


Chasing the Dream

by buffalo1221



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-08
Updated: 2015-06-08
Packaged: 2018-03-29 16:04:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 36
Words: 80,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3902347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buffalo1221/pseuds/buffalo1221
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ali and Ashlyn are chasing their World Cup dreams, but things don't always work out according to plan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. No Rush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's some smut...

Ali makes her way back outside with another wine bottle, but pauses for a moment before she shuts the doors and makes her prescience known. Her hand rises up to her heart as she takes in the adorable sight before her, the edges of her lips curl up into a smile as she looks at her girlfriend passed out on the lawn chair with both arms wrapped protectively around a sleeping baby. Her mouth is slightly parted, matching that of the little boys, and light snores can be heard escaping from both of their mouths around the slight trail of drool.

Across the patio she catches Heather’s attention and neither of them can hide their giggles anymore as Ashlyn’s snoring begins to escalate.

“I see Ash tired Ryan out,” Amy said as she snuck out the back door behind Ali, pulling the zipper up on her sweater to block out the chill that descended on them once the sun began to set. She thinks back to how Ashlyn had been chasing him around the backyard all night with a smile. With such a great group of friends, she knows that the little boy will always be surrounded by great role models, and for her sake, fantastic babysitters.

“Or the other way around,” Ali laughed as she followed Amy towards the chairs where the other women were sitting, plopping down in the one between the blondes. “More wine?” she asked, lifting the bottle up and alternating her gaze between the girls crowded around the table.

“Yes please,” Cheney responds quickly before she slides her glass across the table.

The others nod and Ali carefully fills the glasses, filling hers only slightly. She brings her own refilled glass up to her lips as she casts a sideways glance at her still sleeping girlfriend. She can’t help but feel her heart flutter at how cute she looks holding the little boy.

Heather catches her wandering eyes and smiles internally. “So you two thinking of settling down any time soon?” she asks casually with a raised eyebrow as she savors a sip of the sweet wine from her glass.

Cheney and Amy both look expectantly at Ali over the brim of their glasses waiting for an answer that nearly everyone on the team has been wondering. Luckily, the liquid courage from the wine had emboldened Heather enough to ask her.

Ali contemplates for a minute before responding. She knows why their asking, her and Ashlyn have been together for the better part of five years and they’re not getting any younger. It’s a conversation her and Ashlyn have had many times, but not in a while. She knows there two ways to answer the question, the blatantly honest way or the feigning oblivious way. She chooses the later. “Settle down? I mean we live together and are essentially attached at the hip since we work together too,” she chuckles as she looks down at her wine glass, swirling the contents around gently to avoid awkward eye contact. “How much more settled can we get?” she poses the question and hopes that her cryptic answer will suffice their curiosity for now.

“I think she means when am I going to put a ring on it,” Ashlyn says through a yawn as her groggy eyes slowly open.

Ali is caught off guard, unaware that she had been listening to the conversation, but is glad she came to the rescue. She watches as Ash sits up a bit and adjusts Ryan to get more comfortable before looking around the table at the faces of her teammates who look like they got caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

“Basically what we’re all wondering,” Cheney says with a laugh and large grin as she takes Ash’s joking statement as a cue that the conversation can continue.

Ashlyn just shakes her head and grabs Ali’s wine glass from the table to take a long sip. “She knows she’s end game for me. We’re just not rushing. Right, babe?”

Ali just smiles softly, reassured by the blonde’s words. She knows the goalkeeper isn’t going anywhere and neither is she. “Right.” She reaches out and places her hand on top of the one Ashlyn isn’t holding Ryan with and gives it a gentle squeeze. “With the World Cup in a few months and then the Olympics, who has time to plan a wedding anyways?” she asks with a laugh.

The other three girls, all having been married already, nod.

“True,” Amy says as she meets Ali’s gaze. “Planning my wedding was a nightmare!” she remembers with a laugh.

“Yeah didn’t your florist mix up the days or something and called you the night before to cancel?” Lauren joins in on the laughter as she too remembers how stressful her best friend’s wedding was. “You called me the night before freaking out!”

Amy shakes her head, “Yeah it was a mess.”

“Well I thought your wedding was beautiful,” Ali interjects with a smile. “HAO’s on the other hand,” she adds with an eye roll.

“Don’t you dare!” Heather challenges, knowing exactly which story the brunette is referring to.

“Oh this sounds like a good one,” Ash responds, sitting up a bit more while still clutching a sleeping Ryan tight to her chest.

Heather glares across the table at Ali, but can’t fight the smile that’s coming to her own lips. She knows Ali is the only one at the table that attended her wedding and was hoping this story never got out.

At this point Ali can barely contain her laughter as the images flash vividly through her memory. “I’m sorry, but I have to Heather,” she says apologetically as she looks over at the other three women who seem quite intrigued.

Heather groans and drops her head in shame. “I’m sure I’ll get you back with something,” she mumbles, but it goes unheard as Ali begins her story.

“So Heather was, how should I put this,” she pauses and searches for the right way to phrase it, “a little bit tipsy by the end of her wedding night-”

“I was wasted,” Heather sets the record straight.

“Okay so she was wasted and the song from Dirty Dancing comes on…” Ali pauses when she hears the other girls start chuckling, knowing exactly where this story is going. She continues on, “and she starts yelling for Dave who is across the dance floor saying goodnight to his parents, then she points up to the speakers and with no other warning than that just takes off running across the dance floor.” At this point Ali is exploding with laughter and trying her best to catch her breath so she can finish the story. She fails miserably and is bent over her chair in a full out, hearty laugh when Heather tosses a balled up napkin at her teasingly before she commandeers the story.

“So I take off running and at the last second, far too late, Dave realizes what I’m doing. He reached his arms out, but…but…” Now Heather can’t finish the story as her cheeks become red with embarrassment, her abs already tight from laughing so hard.

“SHE DIDN’T EVEN JUMP UP SHE JUST TACKLED HIM!” Ali screams out through her laugh with her arms flailing for imagery, causing her wine glass to go flying, Ryan to abruptly wake up and the rest of the girls to erupt into a wild laughter.

The laughter dies down after a few minutes, but they keep giggling as they individually picture Heather tackling her husband on their wedding night.

“I mean I know it was your wedding night and all, but I think that’s a whole new definition of liking it rough HAO,” Ashlyn teases, causing Cheney to spit out the wine she had just taken a sip of.

“ASHLYN!” Ali chides as she shoots her daggers and points to the little boy in her lap.

“It’s okay, Kriegs,” Amy responds with a laugh as she watches Ashlyn tickle Ryan while bouncing him on her knee, sending him into his own fit of giggles. “He’s still too little to pick anything up.”

“Still,” she responds quietly as she drops her gaze. Noticing the mess she made, she sits up and grabs a few napkins to blot the puddle of spilled wine, before deciding she’ll just make Ashlyn hose the patio table down after everyone leaves. She does, however, right her glass, fills it halfway and hands it to Ashlyn before sinking back in her chair and getting comfortable.

They continue chatting for a bit longer, before the chilly wind and the day’s events get the best of them.

“We should probably head back to the hotel,” Amy says as she hides a yawn behind her fist. “I’m exhausted and I need to get this little guy to bed,” she says as she stands and tickles Ryan’s sides.

“Aw do you have to take him,” Ash pretends to pout as she snuggles him closer to her and wraps her arms protectively around him.

Amy just laughs and shakes her head. “Trust me, you wouldn’t want him. He’s a terrible sleeper and I know you have quite the reputation for sleeping well past noon on your off days.”

Ash rolls her eyes before loosening her grip and allowing Amy to gently pull the boy away from her. “I need my beauty sleep,” she grumbles before she pushes her chair back and stands to lead the way back into the house.

The group makes their way through the main room towards the front door. As Amy gathers up all of Ryan’s things, Ali turns to Lauren and wraps her up in a tight hug. “You played a great game tonight,” she says with a smile, a smile that is large and genuine because even though her friends played great, her Spirit team still beat them 3-1.

“Mhmmm, easy for you to say Kriegs!” Heather goads as she pulls away from her own hug with Ashlyn.

“Hey at least you scored, Heather!” Ash retorts. “And if my woman wasn’t concussed and could actually play there’s no way you would have even gotten that shot off!” the lanky goalkeeper says proudly as she wraps her arm around Ali’s shoulder and pulls her in to kiss the top of her head.

“Or maybe if you guys had a better goalie, she would have saved it” Amy chides with a laugh. She quickly holds Ryan out in front of her in protection when the blonde sets towards her with a playful glare.

“Enough, enough,” Ali says, settling the boisterous group as she shakes her head. The last thing she needs is for everyone to get rowdy just as the night is dying down.

Ashlyn looks at her with a mischievous grin, but decides to let Amy off the hook for her comment. Besides, she knows that she came up with double digit saves to keep them in the game. She settles for sticking her tongue out at Amy before ruffling Ryan’s light blonde hair. “See you later little Ry Ry,” she says sweetly and then plants a kiss on his cheek. “Don’t forget to remind your mommy how many times Auntie Ashlyn blocked her shots tonight,” she adds, deciding she couldn’t actually pass up the opportunity to get her back.

Before things can escalate, no matter how playfully, anymore, Heather pulls open the front door and gestures for Lauren and Amy to make their way out. “Well thanks for having us.” Heather squeezes Ali tightly before heading out the door after the other two. “See you guys at camp in a couple weeks!” she calls out over her shoulder before Ashlyn shut the door behind them, sealing the house with some peace and quiet.

She looks over at Ali with a grin, taking in her figure in the tight, white v neck and black shorts she has on as she leans on the door frame with her arms crossed. Ali looks back at her with a soft smile.

“You sure you want to wait on kids?” she asks with a teasing smile as she looks up at the grinning blonde. “You looked like you were having a blast with Ry tonight.”

Ash puts her hands up in defense and takes a step back, “Hell no! I am all for having a good time and playing with kids, as long as I can give them back to their mommies after,” she says with a chuckle. “I like it being just you and me,” she states sincerely as she takes a step towards the brunette, trying to read her expression. “Of course I want all of that one day with you, but I’m just not ready yet. I don’t want to share you with anyone,” she says and wags her eyebrows which earns her a laugh from the defender.

Ali shakes her head as she drops her gaze to the floor.

“Hey, are you okay?” she asks concerned, pulling Ali from wherever she was lost in her thoughts.

“Hmm? Oh yeah. I’m good,” she replies sweetly as she meets Ash’s eyes. “It was nice catching up,” she says, changing the topic of conversation. “I’m just thinking about how crazy things are going to get soon,” she offers with a shrug before pushing off the door frame and heading out to the patio to clean up.

“I know what you mean,” Ash replies as she pulls the back sliding door open for her girlfriend. “At least we get to do it together though. This is our first big tournament that we’re going together. It’s going to be amazing, Al.”

Ali ponders her statement for a moment as she lets the realization hit her. Just last week they had both gotten calls from Jill informing them of their spots on the World Cup roster and though they had all but assumed their places in the months leading up to it, it was amazing to know she got to do it all with her girlfriend by her side. Going to the World Cup was a dream come true, but going to the World Cup and winning it with the love of your life right beside you, now that was something else entirely.

Picturing Ash in the hotel after the World Cup final wearing nothing but her gold medal and cocky, dimpled grin does something to Ali. She raises her eyes up from the table and stills her cleaning hands. Ash thinks Ali is being too quiet and looks up from cleaning as well, to catch her girlfriends smoldering stare. When Ali bites her bottom lip gently, the goalie smirks, knowing Ali must be in quite a mood.

“Whatcha thinking there, Al?” she asks coyly, turning her cheek so Ali can catch a glimpse of her favorite dimple.

The contents in Ali’s hands drop back to the table and she’s on Ashlyn in less than a second, giving her no time to process what’s about to go down. Caught off guard, the blonde stumbles back a few feet, but quickly regains her composure and instinctively wraps her arms tightly around the defender. She drops them to her ass and easily lifts Ali off the ground as the brunette wraps legs around her waist. Ash quickly walks them to the bedroom and dumps Ali on the bed, immediately covering her body with her own.

Their kiss is powerful and heated and ignites both of them almost instantly. As Ashlyn slows the kiss down, Ali feels her slowly running her fingers up and down her side and knows that the blonde has it in her mind that she’s going to draw this out and tease her. Ali can already feel the wetness and pressure pooling between her legs and knows she can’t wait any longer. She pushes Ashlyn back and then rips off her own pants and panties off before flinging them across the room. 

Ash sits back, a bit stunned at the way Ali is staring at her with a look of untamed desire. Before she can even react, Ali is on her, ripping the blonde’s shirt over her head, followed by her bra. She sets her mouth to work on Ashlyn’s nipples, biting down on one with a careful roughness and then rolling her tongue around it in smooth circles to sooth the skin, while her hand massages the other one. 

When she hears Ash let out a low moan, she trails her lips up the keeper’s neck, finding a resting place right at the crook of her neck. She runs her tongue from there up to the blonde’s ear before taking her lobe in her mouth and pulling it gently with her teeth. 

Ashlyn’s hands begin to wander in excitement, but not to where Ali wants, no needs them most. She releases her grip on her breast and slides it down to interlace it with Ashlyn’s. 

Ash smiles, thinking that Ali is ready to slow it down, but then she feels Ali moving her hand down to her center, and she hears her whisper, “I need you, baby,” in her ear. That’s all Ashlyn needs to hear and in an instant, Ali is flat on her back and Ash has assumed control again.

 _This is more like it._ Ali moans as she feels Ash slide her fingers through her soaking folds, coating them with her juices. “Yes, baby,” she says in a breathless whisper as she tries to grind down on the blonde’s fingers. 

“Jesus. You’re already so wet for me, Alex.” She smirks when Ali bucks up into her again, knowing that the defender loves it when she calls her that. 

“Ash, please,” Ali begs. She knows Ash likes the control, likes to know Ali has relinquished her body to her.

Without wasting another second, Ash drives two fingers deep into Ali. She moans and pulls Ashlyn in hungrily for a kiss. Her rhythm matches up with the blonde’s and their moving together as one. As Ali rakes her nails down Ashlyn’s back trying to pull her closer and get her deeper, Ash plungers her fingers faster into Ali as she quickly hurls towards an orgasm.

Ash breaks off from the kiss and Ali lets out a groan at the loss of contact until she mutters, “I want to taste you,” and makes her way down Ali’s body to settle in between her legs. She can feel the brunette tightening around her fingers and with a few quick flicks of her tongue on Ali’s clit, the brunette is spilling out onto her face and fingers as she hurls curse words and moans Ashlyn’s name while riding out her orgasm.

After Ali’s body stills and her arched back sinks back down to the bed, Ash rises to her knees removes her fingers. She licks them clean while looking at her panting girlfriend who is staring up at her with a sexy grin as her chest rises and falls rapidly.

“Fuck, Ash,” she says through staggered breaths and throws her arm over her face. “That was amazing.”

“Lots of practice,” Ash teases and earns herself a playful slap.

Ali grabs her by the waistband of her shorts and pulls her down onto the bed so that they’re both lying on their backs. 

A few minutes later, after her breathing stills, Ali rolls onto her side. She tangles her legs with Ashlyn and begins to gently trace the colorful tattoos on the blonde’s side with her fingertips.

Ashlyn, still worked up, shudders at the contact. She looks down at Ali though and can tell she deeps in thought. “Hey,” she says quietly, before nudging Ali’s chin gently with her elbow to get her to look up. “What’s going on in the pretty little head of yours?”

“Just thinking,” Ali responds, her voice trailing off a bit.

“About?” Ash presses.

“Us. Marriage. Kids.”

Ashlyn takes a deep breath and to be honest is quite surprised that Ali jumped right into it. Usually it took much more prodding to get on the topic. “Is this because of what Heather and them were asking tonight and our conversation after they left?”

“No, honestly it had to do with me watching you and Ryan. You’re so good with kids and I can’t help but swoon over you when I see you playing with them.”

“I’m only good with kids because I am a kid,” Ash responds with a laugh.

“Are you sure you’re okay with waiting until after the World Cup and Olympics? I just…I see you acting so natural in those situations and can’t help but think that’s what you want…now.” Ali shyly dips her head, afraid of the answer. She always thought they were on the same page, but lately she can’t shake a guilty feeling that’s been wracking her mind.

Ash can tell her girlfriend needs reassuring so she turns onto her side so she can look directly into her eyes. “Alex, I one hundred percent want to marry you. And I want to have beautiful babies that have your eyes and your beautiful smile. That will definitely happen, but I really am in no rush. I just want to enjoy these crazy times ahead. And trust me, like I said before I’m not ready to have kids. I mean they’re cute and all, but I like it being just you,” she plants a kiss to Ali’s nose, “and me. We don’t need a kid to cramp our style,” she says with a smile, hoping it sounds reassuring because she really does mean it. She knows an engagement and wedding and a house full of kids and dogs are in her future, but there really is no rush.

“Promise?” she asks, seeking confirmation.

Ashlyn just grins, “I’m too pretty to be cleaning diapers! And I definitely need my beauty sleep.”

Ali shakes her head and rolls her eyes before turning to meet Ashlyn’s gaze. “I dunno…you seem pretty sexy to me already,” she says with darkening eyes as she crawls back on top of the keeper and leans down hungrily for a kiss.


	2. Honestly?

“Let’s go, Krieger! You’re on the bike again today.”

Ali looks up and sees Dan, the Spirit’s strength and conditioning coach calling to her from across the field. She gives Ash a pat on the arm and a “go get ‘em,” before jogging across the field to assume her place on the bike. “Again with the bike?” she groans while climbing up onto the seat. It’s been a few days of just biking and her symptoms hadn't resurfaced so she was ready for more.

Dan looks over at her sympathetically before responding. “You know you’re not getting back in time for the Sky Blue game right?” He knows the brunette has been pushing herself to get back for the last game before their two month hiatus, but doesn’t want her to push herself too hard to get back. A concussion, especially one where she was unconscious for a time, is dangerous and he needs her to take it seriously.

She lets out a sigh, “I know. I just can’t lose my fitness,” she offers as she begins pedaling, and there is truth in the statement.

“We’ll get you back, Kriegs,” he says sincerely and pats her shoulder. “You’ll be rocking and rolling in plenty of time to bring that World Cup trophy home where it belongs.”

She smiles back at him, glad for the reassurance. She knows that’s the main time frame everyone has in their mind. As nice as it would have been to get some more games in before the national team training camp, being one hundred percent healthy going into camp was the number one goal. “So how long on the bike today?” she asks, tabling the previous conversation.

“Half hour,” he responds, but has turned his attention to the players on the field who are beginning their routine warm up. “That doesn’t look like a 75% percent sprint to me, Nairn! Are you telling me Harris is almost as fast as you?” he calls out, earning a few laughs from the team as they watch her hang her head in embarrassment and pick up her speed.

Ali doesn’t laugh, she’s too caught up in Dan’s last statement to her. “Only a half hour?” Usually he has her on there for at least an hour doing interval workouts.

“Yeah. Half hour on the bike and then if there’s no symptoms,” he turns to meet her eyes, “and I mean NO symptoms, we’re going to throw you on the field for some shooting and light drills.”

Ali’s eyes light up immediately at the thought of slipping her cleats on again and practicing with her teammates after almost two weeks off the field. She can’t even remember the last time she’s gone this long without a ball at her feet. “Seriously!?” she shrieks, almost falling off the bike in excitement.

Dan laughs and reaches out his hand to steady her before he shakes his head at the defender’s blatant enthusiasm. “No symptoms,” he wags his finger before walking out onto the field to take over the warm-up.

She nods and quickly resumes pedaling as she looks up at the field, spurred on by the thought of returning to playing and also by how hot Ash looks in her black goalkeeper shirt.

Sure enough, after half an hour Dan comes back to check on her. “How you feeling, Kriegy?” he asks.

Ali can tell he’s staring at her intently looking for any sign of discomfort or dishonesty. “Honestly?” she asks.

“Honestly.”

“I feel great,” she says with her signature megawatt smile. 

“Good to hear!” he replies and then looks back down to his notepad that was tucked underneath his arm.

Ali waits for more, but quickly becomes impatient. “Soooo, should I put my cleats on?” she asks hopefully and crosses her fingers while she waits on an answer.

He finally glances up and nods. “Yep. Just got the email from your U.S. soccer trainer and she confirmed as long as there are no symptoms, you can do non-contact stuff.”

“Yes!” Ali says excitedly with a fist pump. She hops off the bikes and quickly jogs over to the bench where her gear bag is.

Almost two hours later, Ali is jogging leisurely towards the locker room with sore legs when she feels a tap on her shoulder. She turns and meets her favorite pair of hazel eyes.

“Looking good out there,” Ash says as she bumps her shoulder into Ali’s. “I missed having you in front of me,” she states with a smile, her eyes twinkling mischievously.

“You mean you missed staring at my ass the whole practice?” Ali responds with a laugh. _How does this girl stay focused in a game?_

“Something like that,” Ash shrugs before pulling open the door for Ali. “It’s not my fault it’s such a nice view,” she concedes and then follows the brunette into the building.

“Well I definitely liked watching you looking all hot and intense in your keeper jersey too,” Ali quipped as she shot a sexy smile back at her keeper. “I love when you wear all black.”

“Hmmmm,” Ash replies and taps her chin in apparent thought. “Maybe the keeper jersey will make an appearance in bed tonight,” she says with a playful smirk.

“Just the keeper jersey?” Ali asks with a raised eyebrow. She can already feel herself getting worked up at the thought and it’s barely even noon.

“I think that can be arranged,” says Ash with a smile as she leans down to give Ali a quick peck on the lips before pulling open the door to the locker room.

Most of the team has cleared out already, since Ali had stayed late to do light fitness and Ash was working on attacking crosses with Mark. There were a few people lingering though as they wandered in and out of the showers and changed.

“It was nice to see you out there again!” Kelsey states as she nods towards Ali.

Ali catches Ash’s incredulous glare at the younger goalkeeper and knows exactly where her mind goes too. _I doubt the view is why she liked having me back_ , she thinks to herself as she holds back a smile. “It’s great to be out there again in front of you!” she says cheerily before shooting Ash a playful glance. It’s a game they often play with each other, the teasing and mock jealously usually leading to fun activities after the fact. She knows how protective Ash can get, and surprisingly herself as well, and always enjoys rousing the blonde.

Luckily, for everyone in the room, Crystal’s voice pulls Ali and Ash from their lustful stares. “You ladies going to make an appearance at the club tonight now that Kriegs is alive again?” she asks over the music pumping through the speakers.

Ash shoots Ali a look searching for confirmation, but the brunette just shrugs.

“We’ll see how she’s feeling,” Ash offers with a weak, non-committal grin. She would love to go out and let loose, but wouldn’t leave her girlfriend behind. No matter what she was doing, it was usually more fun with Ali. 

“Aw come on! You never come out anymore!” says Tori as she slips her grey v-neck over her head. “You’ve been bailing for weeks!”

The girls don’t know put two and two together and fail to realize why it’s been two weeks since Ash has gone out. They don’t realize it coincides perfectly with Ali’s injury, but Ash doesn’t want to say anything so the girls don’t blame or guilt Ali into letting her go. She simply shrugs and walks over to her locker to undress for a shower.

After five years together, Ali can easily pick apart Ashlyn’s expressions and mannerisms. When she sees the blonde dip her eyes to the floor and sag her shoulders a bit, she senses her disappointment and know she’s partly to blame. She feels bad and knows Ash won’t say anything to the girls in an attempt to shield her from any of the blame, not that they would necessarily blame Ali. After her concussion, Ash had been by her side every day and night, refusing to leave Ali in case “something bad happened.” She never knew what the “something bad” could be, but appreciated Ash’s unwavering commitment and support as she recovered. There were plenty of times Ash would shrug off invites to go out with the team, instead cuddling up in bed with Ali all night in silence when her headaches were too painful for any type of stimulation. She knows Ash well enough to know that the blonde wants to go out, but won’t say it and if she’s being honest, Ash definitely deserves a fun night out.

“I think we can definitely make an appearance,” Ali states with a smile and nudges Ash’s arm with her own, “Right, Ash?”

Caught off guard by the strong word choice of _definitely_ making an appearance it takes Ash a moment, but she finds her smile. “Of course!” she says with clear excitement in her voice as she looks over at Ali who gives her a wink.

“Awesome!” Crystal replies before turning around and high-fiving some of the other girls. She gets to Christine and sticks her hand out. “Pay up, Nairn.”

Ali and Ash look at each other and then back to Crystal who is eyeing a sheepish looking Christine Nairn. As Nairn turns and begrudgingly pulls out her wallet and slaps a twenty in the palm of her hands, they finally catch on to what is going on.

“Did you all seriously bet on whether we would come out tonight?!” Ash asks incredulously as she looks over at the younger girls who suddenly can’t seem to remember how to make eye contact.

“Well…we just bet that you would come. We figured Ali would definitely be a no,” Crystal answers timidly, her head hanging low.

Ali laughs at the sight of her teammates all dodging their goalkeeper’s intimidating stare. She shakes her head and then puts a settling hand on Ash’s shoulder. Ash thinks Ali is about to let them off of the hook, but is genuinely surprised by the words that come out of her girlfriends mouth as she steps in front of her towards their younger teammates. “You know why we haven’t been going out right? You know that I had a concussion and literally couldn’t stand to be in a room with the lights on or any noise, right? I couldn’t even leave the house and certainly wasn’t any fun. Despite that, Ash stayed by my side for every minute of it. So I’m sorry that she wasn’t able to paint the town with you all, but she was being a grown up. You should try it sometime.”

Everyone in the locker room, even those that weren’t involved in the discussion, has now completely frozen. They couldn’t believe the words coming from their characteristically happy and sweet Captain’s mouth and the way that she was staring madly at them has nearly caused their hearts to stop beating. Had the concussion caused her to have a sudden personality shift? 

Finally, Tori steps towards Ali and her eyes are brimming with sincerity. “Ali, we didn’t…”

Her words are cut off by Ali’s shrill laughter, as she doubles over and rests her hands on her knees for support. Now the entire locker room is even more confused. Is Ali Krieger having alternating personality shifts right in front of them? Maybe this concussion was worse than they had originally thought. 

Nairn thinks to go get the trainer, but she is paralyzed with fear at what she’s witnessing. Finally, Ali looks up and realizes that she’s the only one laughing. “Oh, it was a joke…” she says, her voice trailing off which shows the confusion she’s feeling that no one caught onto her joke. “I was…I was just kidding.”

“Jesus, Al,” Ash says as she wraps her arms around Ali’s waist from behind. “Way to terrify the poor children with you split personalities,” she teases before planting a kiss on top of the defender’s head. “But I guess you guys deserved it for that bet.”

“Funny, Kriegs!” Crystal says when her heart finally begins thumping again. “You scared us half to death!”

“Well maybe now you’ll think twice before messing with Captain Krieger, y’all,” says Tori as she turns back to her bag and begins shoving her gear inside. 

“We’ll still see you tonight, right?” Nairn asks hopefully, still a bit uneasy that Ali might snap on them again.

“Yes you will,” she replies sweetly, hoping to reassure them that she’s not ready to pounce on them at a moment’s notice.

“Just text us where and when,” Ash says before pulling her shirt over her head to get ready for her shower.

“You got it! See you two later!”


	3. I Got You

“Damn,” Ash whispers to herself as Ali walks out of their bedroom. Luckily she is too busy putting her earrings in to catch Ash’s open mouth, which gives the blonde a few seconds to admire her girlfriend’s toned body unabashedly. She is wearing tight, dark grey skinny jeans with a flowy dark blue blouse and her hair is straightened and pulled casually over one shoulder. As Ash takes in Ali’s appearance, she notes how her heels make her legs look even hotter than normal. The room suddenly feels a bit too hot and Ash fans herself with her hand to try to quell the blush that is surely creeping up her neck.

Ali looks up, curious at the movement she catches out of the corner of her eye, and smiles when she sees her bothered girlfriend. “You alright there?” she asks with a bright, albeit cocky smile.

Ash knows she’s been caught and just smiles in return. Her confidence luckily hasn’t faltered and she is able to form a proper sentence. “Yeah, I’m looking at my incredibly sexy girlfriend and thinking about how funny she is to think we’re ever going to make it out of the house with her looking like this.” She gives Ali an up and down with her eyes and licks her lips to solidify her true sentiment. It’s been over two weeks of seeing Ali in sweats and lounging on the couch due to her concussion. Though she still thinks she’s the most beautiful woman she’s ever seen no matter what she wears, this dressed up version of Ali is very much welcomed.

“Easy there, stud,” Ali replies with a chuckle and an outstretched palm as Ash takes a few steps towards her. She kisses Ash on the cheek and then places her hand on her chest and gives her a gentle push backwards so she can squeeze by her and make her way to the front door. “We’re already running late and I didn’t put on my dancing shoes for nothing!”

Ash groans and rubs both hands over her face to try to push the dirty thoughts from her mind. “Fine,” she grumbles as she follows the brunette out the door. When they reach the vehicle, she pulls open the door to the Jeep and helps her inside the passenger seat. She turns and walks over to the driver’s side, but not before whispering, “When we get home, you’re all mine,” into Ali’s ear and finishing it with a nip.

The brunette smirks as excitement immediately fills her. She was definitely glad that she was far enough in her recovery that their regular intimacy had crept back into everyday life. As much as she appreciated Ash being gentle and cautious, sometimes the blonde could be too protective. After her ACL surgery before to 2012 Olympics, it was months of agonizing waiting and failed seduction attempts before the keeper thought it was “safe” again. Though she definitely had made up for the lost time, she was glad this injury wasn’t as bad. She still wasn’t quite sure how Ash had the willpower to resist her advances during the two months, especially when she even pulled out the big guns with the blonde’s favorite pair of black lace lingerie.

A few minutes later they pull up in front of the club Crystal had directed them to. Ash goes to hop out of the car, but stops when Ali shoots her a quizzical glance. “Valet service,” she says with a grin. “We’re celebrating my lady being back!” She shuts her door and then strolls around to pull Ali’s open for her.

“Thanks,” Ali says quietly as she takes Ash’s hand and steps down onto the sidewalk.

Ash hands the Valet a twenty as they make their way into the club. Once they make it past the front door, they can immediately tell why Crystal picked this place. The music is loud, it’s dark and the dance floor is mobbed with people. As Ash looks around, she shakes her head, hoping the same strobe lights that defined the place, aptly named Strobe, don’t send Ali into some weird convulsions or seizures. She’s already had enough trouble getting through watching Ali stretched off the field in a neck brace, she didn’t need any more horrific images to add to the scene in her head.

She places her hand on Ali’s back comfortingly and yells into her ear over the music, “You sure you’re up for this?”

Ali thinks on it, though she already has her answer formed. Of course the club was a bit overwhelming, especially with the intensity of the music and flicking lights, but she knows Ash needs this, no they need this. Besides, if she was going to get cleared to return to full contact, she had better be able to handle some loud music and lights. Those things paled in comparison to bravely heading blazing crosses away and sliding into aggressive tackles against some of the best soccer players in the world. “I’m great!” she musters up a smile before grabbing Ash’s hand and leading her over to the corner table where her teammates are excitedly waving to them. It made her smile knowing how excited the girls were that they had made it out.

They make their way over the table and hug everyone before Ash slips away to get them some drinks.

“So glad you two could make it out!” Crystal shrieks, her bright smile shining. “And glad to see you’re getting back to playing. They’ll need you in Canada.”

Ali catches onto the way she phrases her statement and can’t help but feel a twang of guilt. She knows Crystal was devastated when Jill called her to tell her she hadn't made the World Cup roster. She usually would have said “we’ll need you” and Ali could sense the disappointment flicker through her eyes as she easily finishes off her beer.

“2019 will be your year, Crys,” she offers sincerely.

“2015 is going to be my year!” she replies confidently, letting Ali know that she won’t let the setback define her. She can still have an amazing year without being named to the squad. While the world might not learn her name this summer, she’ll be damned sure everyone following the NWSL knows exactly who Crystal Dunn is by the end of the season.

“That’s the attitude,” Ali says with a proud smile, taking the drink from Ashlyn who had just returned from the bar.

“So are you two getting excited or nervous?” asks Tori as she pushes into the circle of women gathered around the table, having just returned from the bar herself with two fistfuls of beer bottles.

Ash rolls her eyes and grabs several from her before handing them out to the other girls. “I think it’s a mix of both,” she replies with a shrug as she shoots a glance to Ali for confirmation. After all, she is the only one in the group whose been there before.

“Yeah I would agree...I…I think after 2011 though, we’re just ready to go out there and finish what we started.” Fiddling with the label on her beer, her voice trails off a bit and she is unable to hide the bitterness that still lies within her at the failed attempt. They had been so close and she, like all the other players, had spent the last four years replaying the game in her head, over and over again trying to search for answers. When it came down to it though, there were no answers, no sense to be made of it all. While American announcers claimed they got jobbed or unlucky, others classified it as motivation for the 2012 Olympics, and some even chalked it up to being karma and a reawakening for Japan after the horrific tsunami that left the country devastated, all the players saw was a wasted opportunity. A wasted chance to bring the cup back to the United States, to solidify their place in soccer history and even to finally get everyone to shut up and stop comparing them to the damn 99ers.

“Well, I think you’ll get it done this time,” Nairn says with a sense of authority as if she has the final say-so. In reality she’s just trying to liven up the conversation so they can all start having some fun.

“We’ll see,” Ali mumbles as everyone turns their attention back to Crystal who started breaking it down when her favorite song came on over the speakers.

She catches Ash’s eye and the blonde gives her a reassuring smile. After the 2011 finals, Ash unfortunately had a first row seat to Ali’s meltdown when she returned state side. She was witness to the weeks of depression, the holing up in the apartment for periods of time with the curtains drawn and the fact that she nearly had to force her to eat the week after. It was the most broken she had ever seen her normally formidable brunette and the experience had definitely tested their relationship on a whole new level. This tournament may very well be the last chance Ali had to bring home the cup and she knew how determined she was to have that gold medal hung around her neck. After losing out on the Olympics, Ash knows how much this tournament meant to Ali and even though she knows her own role may be small, she is going to do everything she can to make Ali’s dreams, as well as her own, come true.

“I got you,” she mouths over the blaring music and can tell Ali understood by the small smile that curled up on her lips. That’s exactly what she used to say when she held Ali as she cried herself to sleep most nights in July four years ago.

The uneasiness is quickly dissolved when Crystal grabs Ali’s hand and pulls her onto the dance floor with her. She had missed her dancing partner the last few weeks and is definitely not going to let Ali off the hook tonight. She stops when they’re a few layers into the crowd and with drinks in hand they dance to the music, their bodies quickly falling in rhythm with the beat.

Ashlyn looks over with a smile as she sips on her beer. She’s a few in already and can feel a slight buzz as she watches the girls dance. Someone nudges her shoulder and she looks over at Lori who has just walked into the club. “Well I’ll be damned. Look what the cat dragged in! Lori Fucking Lindsey,” Ash says with a smirk as she throws her tattooed arm roughly around the other woman’s shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Lori says loudly over the music as she wraps her arm around Ashlyn’s waist and pulls her into a tight hug. “I thought I’d make a surprise appearance!”

“How’d you know where we were?” Ash asks as she finally pulls back from the hug.

“Your woman shot me a text,” she nods towards the dance floor where Ali and the girls are slowly being surrounded by a group of attractive looking young men. “She thought you’d want to see your partner in crime,” she says with a laugh before grabbing an unopened beer from the table and twisting the top off.

“Always!” Ash agrees and clinks her glass to Lori’s before they chug their respective drinks.

They catch up for a while, going over the usual small talk before the conversation turns a bit more serious.

“So how’s Krieger doing?” the older woman asks while setting her now empty beer bottle down on the table. “That was a nasty looking hit she took in Houston.”

“She’s good. Her recovery is coming along a lot faster than her last concussion.” Ash turns her back to the dance floor to give Lori her full attention and she leans on her elbows which are resting on the edge of the table. “They even let her do some drills today so she was super stoked about that.”

“Good to hear. And how are you doing?” Lori questions with a knowing look. She knows how upset Ash must have been when Ali was removed from the game.

“I’m okay. I won’t lie it was hard to get back into the game after that. I was so scared for her. I mean she was out cold for at least a minute and then when she woke up she didn’t remember anything. She looked at Carli and I like we had two heads!”

“Yeah I was watching. It looked pretty rough. You were cute staying by her side though,” Lori says and nudged her teasingly. “I seem to recall twitter exploding with pictures of you holding her hand.”

Ash chuckles and takes a sip of her beer. “Well I was terrified. I don’t care who saw us, I just knew she needed me to be there for her. The look in her eyes…” Ash trails off and sighs, “It was so empty, like she wasn’t even there. She was scared and I felt so helpless. I don’t know if I felt worse about her getting a concussion or what it could have meant for her World Cup dreams,” she finishes ruefully.

“She’s alright now though, right?” Lori asks for clarification. She wants to make sure Ali is being smart about her injury.

“Yeah. No symptoms for the last week even with exercise. She’s back on track to be full contact when we get to camp in May.”

She sounds confident, which is enough to assure Lori that she’s getting back the right way. “Well that’s good. I know how bad she wants this one,” she supplies with a knowing look up at the keeper.

“That’s an understatement,” Ash says with a small chuckle. “Before the concussion and especially now during recovery she’s been so focused it’s crazy.”

“Yeah she’s pretty intense like that,” Lori replies with a sympathetic smile. She’s been on the receiving end of a few Ali Krieger pep talks during both national team and Spirit games and she knows a determined Captain Krieger is a force to be reckoned with. “She might drive herself crazy before the cup. I hope you can get her to loosen up a bit.”

Ash spits her drink out when she hears Lori’s comment. She looks up and sees Lori giving her a disgusted look. “I don’t think I have a problem with that,” she offers cockily.

“Gross. Not what I meant,” Lori replies with an eye roll. She casts her eyes over Ash’s shoulder and then nods towards the dance floor. “Looks like you’ve got some competition,” she says, knowing exactly how jealous Ash can get.

The blonde’s nostrils flare immediately as she looks out onto the dance floor and catches what Lori was hinting at. A guy in his mid-twenties with bright blue eyes, perfectly styled sandy blonde hair and a million dollar smile, currently has his arms wrapped around her girlfriend who is dancing back to front with him. She catches Ali’s eyes, and notes that their dark. Anyone else would be furious that their girlfriend was so worked up with a guy grinding up on her, but Ashlyn knows those dark eyes are for her and her alone. Ali knows she is watching and it’s only a matter of time before the blonde has seen enough and will drag her from the club.

Ashlyn downs the last of her beer and sets it on the table. “Well it was good catching up, but I have to go get my woman,” she says with a grin.

“Don’t hurt the poor guy,” Lori teasingly chides.

After smoothing out her shirt and fixing her collar, Ash makes her way out to the dance floor. She maintains eye contact with Ali the whole time, almost stalking towards her in a predatory manner. She doesn’t know who this guy thinks he is with his hands all over her girlfriend, but knows that Ali is definitely trying to get her worked up, especially when she leans back and whispers into the guys ear, all while keeping her eyes locked with the keeper’s.

The blonde wastes no time in approaching Ali, her eyes flaring red with jealously, but layered with a hungry desire. She slides up in front of Ali so that they’re front to front and begins to grind her hips into Ali’s, giving her a smoldering look that makes her knees weak.

For a moment the guy smiles widely, thinking he’s just landed a two for one deal, that is until Ali falls into rhythm with Ashlyn and pushes her hips forward which breaks the contact she had with him. He tries to step forward to regain his position, but Ash roughly grabs Ali’s hips to pull them towards her own. The way she looks at the guy combined with how she confidently mouths “she’s mine” is enough to send the guy scampering and to push Ali’s thirst for the blonde over the edge.

The defender quickly wraps her arms around Ashlyn’s neck and tangles her fingers through the hair at the back of her neck before pulling her down for a fiery kiss.

Ash is surprised at the intensity of the kiss, but eagerly reciprocates it, tilting Ali’s head with her hand to give herself better access as their tongues begin to duel. She feels Ali’s hips thrusting into her as they continue to move to the beat and when she hears Ali moan into her mouth before she bites down on her lower lip, she knows it’s time to leave. “Let’s get the fuck out of here,” she says, breaking the kiss breathlessly.

Ali doesn’t even have time to respond as Ashlyn grabs her hand and pulls her towards the door. She simply grabs her hand and holds on for the ride, _just like I’ll be doing for the rest of the night_ , she thinks to herself with a smirk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do I even have to ask if you guys want the next chapter to be smut to follow the ending up? lol


	4. In Charge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Mother's Day to any moms out there. Hope you have a good day :)
> 
> I figured I'd give you a happy chapter today before it all starts going down hill.

Ali barely even has time to shut the door behind her before Ashlyn has her pinned up against it.

“That was the longest fucking taxi ride ever,” she mumbles into Ali’s neck as she attacks her pulse point with open mouthed kisses.

The brunette lets out a soft moan as her hands slide up the front of Ashlyn’s button up against her hardened abs. The feeling of that alone, spurred by Ashlyn’s tongue trailing down her neck is enough to make her shudder.

Ash smiles cockily as she pulls back. She meets Ali’s eyes and sees them burning with desire, a look she so often sees, but there seems to be something more behind them tonight. Almost as if being cleared to return partially to the pitch has lit a new fire in her girlfriend. It’s something she loves to see, and reminds her off a certain promise she made earlier that day.

“Go to the bedroom and wait for me,” Ashlyn demands as she pulls Ali off of the door.

The defender looks at her quizzically, but quickly makes her way down the hallway, pulling her heels off and tossing them carelessly to the side as she goes.

Ashlyn rummages around through the messy living room to finally find what she’s looking for. She quickly slips her clothes off and then pulls the black, tight fitting keeper jersey over her head, thankful that it doesn’t smell too bad from practice.

She quickly makes her way down the hall wearing a stupid grin as she thinks about what’s about to go down. When she quietly pushes the door open slightly, expecting Ali to be sitting on the bed waiting for her, she is caught completely off guard.

Ali’s clothes are lying in a heap on the floor. As she pulls her eyes from the ground she sees Ali leaning back against the headboard spread-eagled with her hand between her legs. She subconsciously licks her lips as she watches her girlfriend rub slow circles over her clit. Her eyes are gently closed and lips slightly parted. Ash is content to intently watch as she feels a pressure building between her own legs at the sight until she hears Ali let out a soft moan. 

She pushes the door open the rest of the way and makes her presence known as she approaches the bed. Ali smiles up at her with a smoldering look as she slips a finger into her core without breaking eye contact. 

“Care to join?” she whispers in an innocent voice that Ashlyn knows is anything but.

“I dunno. You seem to be doing a pretty good job yourself,” Ash comments and truthfully she wouldn’t mind watching the scene play a bit longer.

Though Ali is easily able to pleasure herself, especially with the sexy blonde in front of her in _just_ her goalie jersey, that’s not what she wants tonight.

“And here I thought when you put on that jersey you were supposed to be in charge,” she quipped as she added another finger for effect. 

“C’mere,” Ash replies huskily as she grabs Ali’s legs and pulls them down towards so that her head settles onto the pillow and she’s no longer leaning against the headboard.

Ali lets out a playful shriek as her hands quickly wrap around the keeper’s neck to pull her in for a kiss. She parts her lips and eagerly accepts Ashlyn’s forceful tongue as the blonde starts to show her just how in charge she can be.

Ali’s hands are wandering, sliding down her back and then up the front of her shirt as Ashlyn hovers over her. “You look so fucking hot in that baby,” she whispers as Ashlyn threads her fingers through her hair and pulls her head back a bit to give her better access to Ali’s neck and exposed chest.

Ashlyn doesn’t respond, but lets her know she heard the message loud and clear by pressing her thigh into Ali’s already soaking center. “Mmm, you’re so wet for me baby,” Ash groans as she feels Ali’s moisture coating her upper leg as the brunette begins to grind up against it.

“You don’t get all the credit for that stud,” Ali challenges cheekily. “I got myself starte-“

She doesn’t get to finish that sentence because Ash quickly dips her head and takes Ali’s nipple in her mouth, sucking hard enough to elicit her gasp from her girlfriend which momentarily shuts her up.

“What was that?” Ash asks with a smirk while she switches to the other nipple and puts more pressure between Ali’s legs with her own.

“N-Nothing,” Ali moans out as her breaths become shallower.

“That’s what I thought,” the keeper replies as she grabs Ali’s arms and roughly pins them above her head. She takes both the brunette’s wrists in one grip and then slides her other hand down slowly down her side, smiling internally as she sees Ali’s skin erupt in goosebumps as she makes her way down.

Ali’s hips have begun bucking harder against Ashlyn’s thigh, but she pulls back a bit. After Ali’s earlier challenge, she wants there to be no doubt that she was the once causing the pleasure. 

“Ash, please,” Ali says softly as she tries to rock forward to increase the contact.

“Look at me,” Ash commands.

Ali slowly opens her eyes and casts the keeper a pleading look. “I love you,” says Ashlyn as she quickly slides two fingers through Ali’s wet folds.  
The brunette hums in anticipation. “I love you too,” she whispers as her head presses back slightly into the pillow. 

Ash can feel her own wetness increasing as she continually slides her fingers through Ali’s folds, shallowly penetrating her. The sight of Ali sprawled out on the bed underneath her makes Ash smile widely as she slowly pushes two fingers deep into her center. Her long brown hair is haphazardly strewn across her shoulders, eyes clenched shut with her head pressed firmly back into the pillow and lips slightly parted as she begins panting all while a light sheen of sweat forms on her body. It’s a beautiful sight and it spurs Ashlyn on even more that she knows she’s the cause of Ali’s involuntary bodily reactions. 

She starts to increase her pace, still fucking Ali deeply with one hand and releases her grip on her hands so that she can lean down and take Ali’s nipple in her mouth again. She rolls her tongue around it in rhythmic circles, which matches the pace at which she’s driving into her, while her hand gently massages her other breast.

Ali’s breathing is becoming labored as she rocks her hips to meet Ashlyn’s thrusting motion. She begins moaning loudly and can feel herself quickly coming undone. 

“Fuck, Ash. Don’t stop baby,” she gets out desperately as she feels her impending orgasm coming on quickly and she begins to feel her head start spinning. Unsure if it’s remnants of the concussion or the way Ashlyn is hitting her in just the right spot doesn’t slow her down as she reaches down to grab Ashlyn’s head. She hungrily devours her lips in a fiery kiss, moaning into Ashlyn’s mouth as her entire body begins shaking.

“Fuck Ashlyn,” she screams into the crook of the keepers necks as her hands grip Ashlyn’s back tightly to pull her in closer.

The keeper slows her pace, but keeps her fingers plunged deep into her girlfriend as she brings her down from her high. When Ali’s body had relaxed back into the bed, she pulls her fingers out and licks them clean.

“Did I take charge enough for you?” Ash asks cockily as she looks down at her girlfriend who is lying back on the bed panting with sweat dripping from her forehead.

“Fuck you,” Ali replies cheekily in an attempt to deflate the keeper’s ego a bit.

“Okay,” Ash shrugs with a grin. “I’m all yours,” she adds before leaning back on the pillow with her hands behind her head and spreads her legs widely.

“Mmmm,” Ali hums with a smile as she sits up and sees Ashlyn’s glistening folds. She wants to quickly wipe the cocky smirk off of Ashlyn's face, but she can't deny how hot she looks spread out in front of her like that. “I guess watching me get off turns you on, huh?”

“Maybe,” Ash replies and gives Ali a smirk that shows off her dimple. “Why don’t you come see just how wet you made me?” The keeper pulls the defender on top of her and then takes Ali’s hand and guides it between her legs. 

Ali can’t deny how hot the action is –Ashlyn showing her exactly what she wants- but the keeper isn’t the only one who can take charge. 

“But I want to taste you,” she whispers sexily as she climbs down Ashlyn’s body, reigning kisses down as she goes. 

It isn’t long before Ashlyn is sent hurling over the edge, Ali’s name on her lips as she does. They’re lying silently -spent and sweaty- tangled in the sheets as they wait to catch their breaths. Finally, Ali breaks the comfortable silence. 

“You think I’ll make it back in time?” Ali asks. It’s a question that’s been on her mind literally since she woke up on the ground of BBVA Compass Stadium with no knowledge of how she got there or who was around her; a terrifying question with a possibly equally terrifying answer.

Ashlyn takes a deep breath as she contemplates her answer. She knows the answer Ali wants to hear –hell the answer her and every other American soccer fan wants to hear- but she’s also well aware that there could be a less reassuring answer that mirrors the truth a bit closer. As much as she wants to guarantee it, they’ve never lied to each other and she won’t start now.

She pulls Ali closer in to her and the brunette snuggles in. “I’ll be honest babe; there is a slight chance that you won’t. But you’re the strongest woman I know and if anyone can come back from this and get back into shape in time for June 8th, it’s you. You looked good at practice today during those drills so just keep doing what you can and hopefully it all falls together.” She finishes with a kiss on the top of her head and waits anxiously for her answer.

The answer is exactly what Ali expected from her; hopeful realism. “I hope so,” she whispers ruefully before drifting off to sleep in the keeper’s comforting arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you guys think? Anyone have an idea of where this might be going?


	5. Something Wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we start to get into the good stuff! Or not so good stuff, whichever way you decide to look at it!
> 
> P.S. How precious was the Mother's Day special they did for the game today? So adorable :)

“Great game, Ash,” says Christie as she wraps Ash up in a hug.

“You too, Cap,” she replies as she pulls back from the sweaty hug. Her team has just beat Sky Blue 3-1 and she is ecstatic with the last two games her team managed to put together. Aside from the hiccup in Houston, they are definitely proving to be a formidable opponent this year. Although they are a pretty young team, Ash thinks they can definitely carry on the success throughout the few months that her and Ali will be gone. She looks forward to coming back and seeing that the Spirit are still at the top of the leader boards.

“Hey Kriegs!” Christie says when she meets Ali eyes as she walks up to the two women. “We missed seeing you out there.”

“Yeah, I know. I’ll be good to go for camp though!” she answers excitedly, her brilliant smile making Ashlyn’s heart fill up even more.

Christie smiles warmly, glad that her beast of a right back is well on the road to recovery. She knows the U.S. will rely on her heavily to hold down that flank during the World Cup. “Great too hear. We’ll need you out there for sure. Can’t go to the World Cup without the world’s best right back now can we?”

Ash proudly shakes her head and then slings her arm around Ali’s shoulder to pull her closer. “No we definitely can’t do that,” she agrees.

They make small talk about the upcoming camp before a few shrieks make their heads whip around. Kelley is currently chasing Reece around the field and the little girl is yelling at the top of her lungs as she zigs and zags to evade the quick O’Hara. Finally, Kelley catches her and is able to snatch her up off the ground. She spins her around in the air as the little girl starts shrieking when Kelly peppers her with kisses and tickles.

“Leave my kid alone, O’Hara!” Christie calls out and upon hearing her mom’s voice, Reece wiggles out of the girl’s arms and makes a beeline for her.

“Good game mommy!” she says proudly as Christie scoops her up from the ground and wraps her up in her discreetly toned arms.

“Thanks baby,” she replies with a smile and plants a kiss on the little girl’s cheek. “Say hi to your friends,” she coaxes her when she turns so that Reece is now facing the Spirit players.

“Hey Ali! Hey Ash!” Reece says with a little wave as she looks up at the two women with a gigantic, chocolate stained smile. “Wanna play?”

Ash can’t deny the way the little girls face lights up when she holds up her mini soccer ball to her. After the great game her team put together, she’s still riding a high and could use the chance to run off some more energy before the long bus ride home. She cautions a glance to Ali who simply shakes her head and gestures for her to go.

“Go play and let us adults talk,” she teases and shares a laugh with Christie.

Ash playfully pretends to pout, but then grabs Reece from Rampone’s arms and runs off. “Let’s go get Kelley!” the little girl shouts to which Ash responds, “Heck yes!” and heads straight towards the unsuspecting freckled girl.

“She’s good with kids,” Christie comments as the two women watch Ash and Reece chase Kelley around. Ash is trying to cut off and corral Kelley so Reece can latch on to her. Unfortunately for Ash, Kelley is pretty quick and she’s having difficulty. Still, the little girl said she wanted to catch Kelley and Ash will be damned if she doesn’t give the girl what she wants. That’s one thing Ash always has going for her, she’s true to her word even to a fault.

“So everyone’s been telling me,” Ali says with a bit more bite than intended as she watches the interaction before her. As she watches Ashlyn play across the field she can’t fight the nagging feeling she’s holding deep down. Still, she’s unsure what the cause of the uneasiness is so she’s done her best to bury it with the hope that it will soon become forgotten.

“Something wrong?” the Captain asks as she glances up with a look of motherly concern. She is a mother after all and easily caught Ali’s tone and faltering smile. Ash and Ali have always been professional when it came to the national team, so that’s not her worry. She just wants to check that her friends are doing okay.

Ali shrugs and quickly shakes her head. “No, no. Nothing is wrong or anything like that. It’s nothing bad, just the usual everyone asking us when we’re getting married and having kids,” she says with a hollow laugh to try and lighten the conversation.

“Ah,” she replies knowingly. “When the time is right, you two will know. It’s between you two and not for anyone else to decide.”

Ali smiles internally, Christie Rampone, ever the voice of reason. “Exactly. Besides with the World Cup coming up on us so quickly, I don’t even have time to think about it.”

“Understandable,” she says with a commiserating grin. She knows all too well the stress of planning for a trip, let alone a major tournament, with two little girls in tow. Thankfully her husband Chris would be able to make this trip as well which would ease her burden -and suitcase weight- substantially.

“I think after these two tournaments we’ll think about it, but we just can’t right now. I know Ash definitely isn’t ready though.”

Christie looks back at her with a confused face, “What makes you think that? She seems to be a natural,” she adds before pointing to the middle of the field where Ash is rolling around on the ground after falling victim to a Kelley and Reese tickle attack after the tables –or a four years olds wishes- apparently turned on her.

Ali smiles at the sight and then turns her attention back to the older woman. Looking at Ash flailing on the ground as Reece clamored all over her, she can’t help but think Christie is right, but then remembers the blonde’s own words from a few nights ago. “Because she flat out told me so,” she laughs.

“Fair enough,” Christie says, joining in on the laugh as she rubs her arm where she’s sure a bruise will appear later from a rough tackle during the game. “Like I said, when the times right, you’ll know. For the time being let’s just focus on winning that gold medal in Canada.”

“You got it Captain,” Ali says, her nose crinkling into a grin as she playfully salutes Rampone. She goes to ask Christie if she’s heard anything about camp specifics when her phone begins to ring. She looks down at it and smiles to see it’s her mom calling to most likely comment on the game, specifically their favorite goalkeeper’s great performance. She loves how invested her family is in not only her success, but Ashlyn’s as well. “I’ve got to take this,” she says holding up one finger.

Christie nods and then makes her way over to where her two girls are kicking the soccer ball around with Ash and Kelley. She decides to join them and the group spends that next five minutes playing keep away from Kelley. Finally, Kelley has enough and drops to the ground in a frustrated heap. “I give up!” she calls out in a weak surrender.

“Aw come on, O’Hara! A little extra fitness never hurt anyone,” Ash teases. “Right, Reece?”

“Right!” screams the little girl excitedly, though she has no idea what she is really agreeing too.

Kelley just groans from the ground when Ash kicks the ball at her lightly and it hits her in the leg. “You trying to sabotage me, Harris?”

“Not at all!” She quickly dodges the soccer ball that is thrown back at her from Kelley.

Kelley sits up and glares at her. “I’m going to tell Ali on you!” she teases and sticks her tongue out.

“Speaking of Ali, where is my woman at?” She looks over at Rampone who simply shrugs and then points over her shoulder with her thumb.

“She had a call to take a few minutes ago.”

Ash nods, knowing it’s customary for her parents or Kyle to call after games to check in. After kicking the ball away for Reece and Rylie to chase after, she scans the field and sees Ali sitting on the bench with her cell phone in hand and up to her ear. Knowing she isn’t being watched, Ash takes the time to look her girlfriend over. She starts with her legs, noting how the black Nike tights she’s wearing wrap perfectly around her toned muscles. Her eyes travel up a bit more to take in the sight of Ali’s grey Washington Spirit dry fit shirt, hugging closely to her. As they wander up a bit further, she meets Ali’s eyes and realizes she’s been caught staring. Normally, she would smirk and let the brunette know it is going to be on later, but this time it is different. Something is different. Ali’s eyes are red and after focusing for a second, she can make out her tear stained cheeks. Something is wrong. Something is terribly wrong.


	6. Worst Case Scenarios

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning...there's a death in this chapter. Not Ali or Ash. Things finally start getting revealed in this one.

Ash is by Ali’s side within a matter of seconds and quickly drops to her knees in front of her. The crowds from the game have mostly dispersed to head home for the night or out to a bar to continue their evenings, but with the hollow look in the normally bright brown eyes she’s come to find home, she could care less who from the remaining fan group sees her comforting Ali.

Her hands gently come to rest a top Ali’s thighs and she looks up into her eyes with as comforting a gaze as she can manage, trying to force down her own concerns and worries. “Alex, baby what’s wrong?” she asks, her mind racing a million miles a minute and plowing through every possible reason she could be this upset. Ali was her hero, her warrior and the strongest woman she knew, but here she was breaking down, her shoulders shaking with tears unceremoniously rolling down her face in public, in broad daylight. Her mind immediately flashes to the worst case scenarios, but she tries to push it from her mind as she patiently waits for an answer.

After a moment, when no answer comes and Ali’s cries have turned to slightly more audible sobs, Ash decides she needs to get her girlfriend to somewhere more private. A few glances around is all it takes to see that people have taken notice to the usually beaming brunette and the last thing she wants is a million pictures circling on Instagram later of Ali crying. She could care less if they comment about them being together or Ash being there for her in a time of need because in all honesty her main concern is protecting Ali. The more she can shield her from the public eye in this moment, the better.

“Here baby, let’s get you out of here,” she whispers in Ali’s ear. The silence she is met with is almost deafening, but thankfully Ali stands up with her guidance and without much resistance. 

As they begin walking it hits Ashlyn that she really has no idea where they can even go for privacy. The locker room will be full of players, the bus won’t provide seclusion for long either and neither of them have a vehicle to retreat to because they had ridden the team bus from Maryland to Jersey. She turns and looks around until she is able to find Kelley’s gaze from across the field.

The freckled face defender shoots her a wide-eyed look of worried concern and Ash just shakes her head to let her know that she doesn’t have any idea what’s wrong. Kelley jogs over and when she sees the shell-shocked and visibly upset Ali she tosses Ashlyn her keys. “Take her to my place. I’ll let Parson’s know that you’re not coming back with the team tonight and I can crash at someone else’s. Call me if either of you need anything.” She doesn’t even wait for a thank you before running off to begin fulfilling the list of things she just promised Ash she would do.

Ash forces a smile and is so damn thankful for Kelley’s heads up thinking at the moment. The quirky defender may have a reputation for being a goofball and a bit airy at times, but through the years the keeper has found her to not only be extremely reliable on the field, but off as well. She feels bad about putting the girl out for the night, but honestly doesn’t think this is going to end well and can only focus on one thing right now and that’s Ali. Luckily, she’s been to Kelley’s apartment before and it’s only a few minutes from the stadium. She can feel Ali begin shaking against her as a new wave of sobs uncontrollably ripple through her body so she wraps her arm around her tighter before pressing a kiss to her temple. “It’s okay baby. We’ll get you to Kelley’s and then we can sort all of this out.”

Ashlyn guides the defender into Kelley’s passenger seat after she tosses the dozens of empty water and soda bottles and fast food and candy bar wrappers into the back seat. She quickly makes a mental note to ask Kelley how the nutrition plan Dawn gave them to follow is going before her mind falls right back onto their predicament. 

The longer Ali refuses to speak the more worried Ashlyn is getting. As she steers the car out of the parking lot she notes that Ali’s sobs have reduced, but she still has a death grip on her hand, as if she’s clinging to her for dear life. To say Ashlyn is terrified is an understatement. Not even when Ali tore her ACL right before the Olympics and missed the big tournament had she acted like this and she knew how devastated the stoic defender had been at that point in her life. But this, the way Ali was acting now? This was completely unprecedented and it terrified Ashlyn to no end.

Thankfully, they hit most of the green lights on the main road and it’s only a few minutes until they pull into Kelley’s housing complex. Ash parks the car in her designated spot and runs around to the other side to help Ali out. She wordlessly takes her assistance and let’s Ashlyn lead her into the town home that Kelley calls her home away from Peachtree, Georgia. 

While she normally would have taken note of the small haphazard herb and vegetable garden Kelley was growing beside the cement pathway that lead to the front door –something she most certainly picked up from Hope and her time spent in Seattle- to tease her about later, her mind completely skips over it, instead focusing on figuring out which of the seven keys on the keychain Kelley tossed her fits into the front door. When she finally finds the correct one -a tiny silver key that was so small she assumed it had to be a mailbox key or something of that nature- the blonde throws open the front door and gently pulls Ali in behind her. 

Ali walks in, still without a word, and plops down on the well-worn black leather couch while Ash hurries to the kitchen to grab her a drink from the mini-fridge that Kelley notoriously keeps stocked 24/7 with water and Gatorade bottles. She plucks a water bottle off the top shelf before slowly making her way back to the living room. Part of her wants to rush back and know every detail of what is upsetting Ali this much, but the other part is too afraid. So she settles on a leisurely stroll pace and plods down the hall back into the living room.

She finds Ali exactly where she left her and after handing her the water bottle, which Ali blindly takes and doesn’t open, she takes a deep breath and plops onto the coffee table in front of Ali. After a few moments of silence, Ash takes Ali’s hands and gives them a squeeze. “I need you to tell me what’s wrong, Alex,” she gently coaxes, not letting her eyes wander from Ali’s. It’s taking everything she has to remain strong, but she’s trying to divulge all of her strength to the defender at the moment. When Ali still doesn’t answer, she decides to go for an easier question. “Who was that on the phone earlier?” She holds her breath knowing that the answer will eliminate some of the scenarios playing through her mind while simultaneously making the odds on the others rise. 

“It was my mom,” she whispered quietly and surprisingly with little emotion. 

_At least Deb Deb is okay_ , Ash thinks to herself but knows there still other horrible options. She squeezes Ali’s hands again, trying to pass more strength off to her as she asks the next question. “And what did your mom have to say?”

“You know my cousin, Jill?”

The question catches Ashlyn a bit off guard, but she nods, knowing exactly which cousin she’s referring to. Her and Ali were extremely close growing up, almost like sisters before she had gone away for college and to travel for soccer. “Is that the one who we went to her mother’s funeral last year?” she asks for clarification, and honestly just to keep Ali focused and talking.

“Yes, that’s the one.”

Ash waits, thinking there will be more, but Ali seems to have run out of words again. She’s somewhat grateful that Ali has stopped crying, but at the same time it’s killing her to see her girlfriend now so empty and emotionless. “So…what happened?”

“She died in a car accident. Her husband too.”

The words come out too fast -almost like Ali is stating them like obvious facts- and Ashlyn almost can’t catch them the way Ali mumbles. She catches herself before replying ‘what’ and tries to process the mumbled words her girlfriend muttered. A moment of thought is all it takes for everything to click and Ashlyn immediately has her arms wrapped around Ali, knowing that saying it is admitting that it happened, which is going to come with another wave of emotions. 

Ash assumes correctly and can already feel Ali shaking in her arms and her sleeve becoming wet from the defender’s new onslaught of tears. She wants to know more, the details, but doesn’t want to push Ali. The brunette always talked highly of her cousin and she was the closest to her out of any of her younger family members besides her brother. She keeps her arms wrapped tightly around her girl, knowing that Ali will talk when Ali is ready to talk. As she sets her head on top of Ali’s after placing a kiss on her forehead, she can’t help but feel the tiniest bit relieved and the guilt at that thought kills her. She had been so sure something happened to her mom or dad or Kyle, and a small part of her mind is occupied with the thought that she’s grateful it wasn’t. The thought bothers her, especially since Ali is obviously so upset, but she doesn’t have long to dwell on it before more words come spilling from Ali’s mouth.

“They were coming home from the movies and were hit by a drunk driver.”

At this point, Ashlyn is scared by the emotionless tone of Ali’s voice. She knows the defender is distraught, the tears on her sleeve prove that, but now she almost seems cold. Still, she waits and let’s Ali keep rambling on, not willing to stop her after she finally got the desire to open up.

“The car flipped off the highway and into the ditch where it rolled a few times before hitting a tree. Mike was killed on impact and Jill died at the hospital from her injuries. She just…she lost too much blood.”

The way she named them specifically didn’t seem quite right to Ashlyn. It was almost as if she was implying that there was someone else in the vehicle and then it hit her –Ben.

Ali could see in Ashlyn’s eyes that she had realized Jill and Mike weren’t the only ones in the car that night. She quickly sets the record straight, “Ben survived. He was in the back in his car seat and wasn’t impact by the way the tree smashed in the front of the car.”

Ashlyn lets out a breath that she didn’t even know she was holding. “Thank god,” she whispered with a sigh before another wave of terror hits her. “Wait. Wasn’t Jill…”

“Pregnant,” Ali finishes her sentence. “Yes.”

“And?” she asks in a panic, thinking the worst has happened while simultaneously hoping it hasn’t.

“My mother wasn’t sure. There wasn’t any word,” she offers sadly.

The words coming from Ali’s mouth now have Ashlyn’s head spinning. She has just said far too many things that Ash is just not capable of understanding at the moment. Though Ashlyn had only met the couple a few times because of their hectic schedules, she knew they were good, kind people –every Krieger that she had come into contact with was a good, kind person. 

She thinks back to one of their most recent visits -Ben’s christening- and that’s when it all hit her like a lightning strike. She looks up to Ali and is completely unable to contain the panic and shock that rests behind her eyes.

The brunette reads her stunned girlfriend like a book and nervously smiles. “Yeah. I’m Ben’s godmother. Their estate lawyer insists that I meet with him first thing tomorrow.”


	7. Family First

The next twelve hours move in slow motion for the couple. All Ali can remember after their talk is Ashlyn carrying her to Kelley’s bed and tucking the covers around her tightly before sliding in behind her and wrapping her own arms around her just as securely as the comforter. She was still in her clothes from the game, as was Ashlyn, but simply didn’t have the energy to care. She remembers falling asleep to a scent combination of peaches (presumably from Kelley’s shampoo lingering on the pillow case), grass, and sweat, mixed with her own salty tears.

She remembers waking up to Ashlyn’s gentle nudges and a warm cup of strong, black coffee –just the way she likes it- shoved into her hand. She vaguely remembers the drive home, Kelley was nice enough to take them since she had the day off, though most of it was spent in and out of restless sleep very similar to what she had experienced the night before. 

She distinctively remembers arriving at their house because there was a gorgeous bouquet of colorful spring flowers waiting for them on the front porch -a condolences gift from the Spirit organization- which are meant to cheer her up, but only serves as a blaring reminder of what she lost, literally and figuratively.

At some point Ashlyn guided her into the shower and they washed off the sweat and tears from the night before, although the sorrow and pain still lingers behind, and the blonde even laid out her outfit so that she didn’t need to think or waste time digging through her closet.

And now here she is, in black dress slacks and a cream colored flowy button-up blouse in the waiting room of Chase, Cooper & Freels waiting to meet with Jill and Mark’s attorney. Ashlyn is sitting next to her holding her hand tightly while she anxiously bounces her knee up and down. Neither woman knows what to expect or to think really and there are few words that can ease the pain or stress they are feeling so they sit in silence, the only noise filling the dated office is the sound of the clock ticking which with each passing second becomes more annoying. Ashlyn thinks it’s like a countdown -a bomb timer ticking down- and she’s about to get up and rip it off the wall when a well-dressed man in his mid-thirties walks into the room.

“Hello Miss Krieger. I’m James Cooper, the attorney overseeing Mike and Jill’s estate.”

Ali thinks he looks too happy for the occasion. He’s the bearer of bad news, but somehow he has the most charming smile plastered across his pretty boy face. Still, he extends his hand to shake and she complies, offering up a meek, “You can call me Ali. It’s nice to meet you.” They both know she’s thinking the exact opposite, she wishes she never had met the man and is most certainly not glad to. But in typical Ali Krieger fashion, she does what is expected of her and that is to plaster on a fake smile and make nice with the man who is about to drop the bomb on her.

“And you are?” he asks, turning to Ashlyn.

Ashlyn smiles and extends her hand. “Ashlyn Harris. I’m Ali’s…girlfriend.” The way the words roll of her tongue feels so wrong. They are so much more than that to each other and the title just doesn’t seem to do the depth of their relationship justice. She shrugs it off for the moment and glances down at Ali with a comforting smile.

He looks her up and down in a way that irks Ashlyn before he offers her a smile as well. “Very well. Will you be joining in on the meeting?” He asks Ashlyn, but they both look to Ali for confirmation.

Suddenly the thought hits Ali like a ton of bricks. She’s not alone in this, there’s going to be collateral damage one way or another. All she knows though is that she needs Ashlyn by her side in this moment so she laces their fingers together and nods. “Of course she will be.”

He nods in understanding and then turns on his heel to lead them into his office. Once inside, he slips behind his large cherry-wood desk and begins to dig through a stack of papers. Ali takes the opportunity to glance around the room. The walls are a nice calming blue color and littered with framed news articles and degrees. She takes note of the Harvard Law degree hanging above the man’s head and takes some comfort in the fact that at least Jill chose a competent lawyer, well most likely.

She is pulled from her thoughts by the clearing of a throat. Upon glancing up she realizes that both Ashlyn and James had been staring at her expectantly. She looks between them waiting for someone to speak after realizing she had obviously missed something.

“Ali, I’m assuming that you’ve heard about the accident yesterday?”

Ali nods, not sure that she’s able to find words at the moment. It all seems too real and she’s struggling to keep her composure. Ashlyn’s tight grip on her hand is literally the only thing helping her keep it together, as it perpetuates the thought that she’s not alone through all of this.

“In their will, Jill and Mike listed you as the legal guardian for three-year old Benjamin should anything happen to them. You are his godmother, correct?”

Again Ali nods, the constricting in her chest is almost becoming too much to bear though.

“Well good. I’m assuming this isn’t too much of a shock then,” he offers with a warm smile that is meant to comfort her, but does the opposite.

Ali wonders how anyone can smile at a time like this, but shakes her head. “No. It’s pretty much what I was expecting,” she says quietly.

“Now is this something that you think you’re capable of handling? Nothing is set in stone yet, of course. The court still needs to approve custody, but we need to know if you’re willing to take it before we proceed.”

Ali is sitting there completely frozen. It’s like she’s having an outer body experience and she feels numb, feels nothing besides the vice grip Ashlyn has on her hand. The way the man phrases the question irritates her to no end. _Am I capable of handling it?_ Her cousin is now being referred to as an it and there’s a debate going as to whether she’s willing to fulfill the promise she made to Jill and Mike when she agreed to be his godmother. Without a doubt or second thought she answers his question, “Yes. I can and will handle the responsibility.” She hears Ashlyn gulp beside her and knows this is definitely going to be an interesting conversation later, but hears the Krieger family mantra ‘family first’ ringing through her ears.

“Very well. That will make things much easier for everyone,” he supplies while he jots a few notes down on his legal pad. “Now they obviously left behind a trust fund for him and will be transferring assets to you for financial support of him.” He slides a sheet across the table and Ali’s jaw drops at the substantial numbers that are listed. _That’s a lot of zeros._ “Do you understand all of that?” he asks after letting her read over the paper for a minute.

Ali simply nods and slides it back across the table. “Yes. When can I see him?” she asks, suddenly very aware of the fact that wherever the little boy is he’s probably alone and scared.

“He’s at the hospital,” the attorney begins before he is cut off by an irate Ali.

“THE HOSPITAL? Why didn’t anyone tell me?! He shouldn’t be there alone!”

Ashlyn jumps back in her seat a bit, shocked at Ali’s sudden emotion fueled outbreak. It had been almost 12 hours since she had heard her talk above a whisper.

“Miss Krieger, please, sit back down,” he says calmly and waits for her to return to her seat. When she does, he begins speaking again. “He sustained some minor injuries in the crash and was just kept for observation. He is also not alone, his grandmother is with him.”

Ali takes a deep breath, somewhat comforted that Benjamin is with family, even though he is still in the hospital. “Can I go see him now?” she asks, eager to get out of the stuffy lawyer’s building and be with the boy.

“There is one more matter to discuss,” he says with a look of skepticism.

“What’s that?” Ali asks.

“Jill as you know was pregnant.”

Ali nods at the obvious statement, hell it had only been two months ago that she and Ashlyn attended her baby shower, and wonders where he’s going with this.

“Well they were able to deliver the baby via a cesarean section before they lost Jill at the hospital,” he says with trepidation as he gauges her response.

“Oh my god,” Ali whispers to herself as she sits up in her seat a bit. It’s quiet, but still loud enough for the others to hear. “Is the baby okay?”

“For the most part. She was born a couple weeks early and had slightly lower levels of oxygen than normal. As a result of that she is on a ventilator in the NICU and under doctor observation.”

A new wave of tears subtly roll down Ali’s cheeks at the thought of the little baby girl fighting for her life just as her parents had done the day before. She felt Ashlyn squeeze her hand reassuringly and for the first time in minutes remembers that she’s there. Her mind flashes to what Ashlyn must be feeling at the moment and she wishes she would have gone in alone. At least then she would have had time to compose herself and divulge the information to Ashlyn in a better way. 

“Can I see her as well? Is she at the same hospital?” Ali asks, getting more worked up that this lawyer is wasting her time when there are two precious children in the hospital.

“Well that’s what I wanted to discuss with you, Miss Krieger.”

“What?” Ali asks as she is pulled from her thoughts.

“Well the baby wasn’t named in the will because they were planning to update it after the birth,” he states cautiously, trying to read the brunette’s face for any suppressed emotions.

Ali let’s out an annoyed breath as she looks back at him expectantly. “Okay…”

“So no legal guardian was named. Customarily, in these cases, the child would be left to a direct relative, a grandparent or sibling. However, they were both only children so that only leaves a grandparent, but I’m honestly not quite sure the state would approve that due to age.”

He doesn’t need to ask the question. Ali already knows exactly what he is getting at and she already knows her answer. “You can’t split them up. I’ll take both of them, together.”

“Miss Krieger I need you to be certain of what you’re agreeing to. You are taking a 3 year old and newborn baby that is in the NICU and parenting them for the next 15 to 18 years. It’s not going to be easy, especially not now. Is that something you can agree to? If so, sign these papers and I will proceed with this before the Judge. I need you to carefully consider this though.”

Ali honestly doesn’t believe there is anything to consider. This is family they are talking about and she would do anything for her loved ones. She quickly grabs the pen from his hand and throws her signature on the page where he has noted with x’s. After setting the pen down she looks up into his steely eyes and asks with mild aggravation, “Now can I go see them?”

He looks the papers over to check that they are properly filled out and then nods. “They’re at the John Hopkins Hospital. I’ll be in touch and if you need anything please do not hesitate to call me,” he says warmly.

Ali nods and then turns to a still shocked Ashlyn who is struggling to make it look like she’s not completely freaking out. “Ready, Ash?”


	8. I'm Here For My....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some tough conversations coming up! Let me know what you guys think :)

The car ride is silent as Ash drives them towards the hospital. Both women are locked deep in thought and really have no idea how to broach the subject at the forefront of both of their minds.

Ashlyn keeps her eyes on the road and both hands on the wheel as she tries to process everything. Though she was a bit shocked at the attorneys when Ali had claimed guardianship of both children, she couldn’t say it surprised her. She knows how loyal and selfless her girlfriend is and it was never really a question in either of their minds that Ali would take them, if that ended up being the case. Even though she wasn’t surprised, she is still freaking out. Ali is end game for her and she would support her through anything, but they haven’t even talked about how they are going to approach this and the longer Ali sits in silence, the further Ash feels her drifting away. Not wanting to push the subject, she can only hope that Ali opens up to her sooner rather than later.

Ali stares out the window with her hands clasped firmly in her lap. She thinks about Ben and the baby girl in the hospital and how she’s all they have now. The thought terrifies her. Normally people have nine months to prepare, to read parenting books and to child proof their house, but not her. She has never changed a diaper, never babysat a child younger than two (which she thinks doesn’t even count because it was for Rampone at a tournament and HAO helped her the whole time) and she can’t even imagine how messy their house is right now since they’ve been on the road so much lately between NWSL and World Cup preparations. The last time she probably cleaned anything in it was when they had friends over after their home game versus FC Kansas City over a week ago. On top of this, she is not only getting one child, she’s getting two, one of which they aren’t even completely positive is going to make it out of the hospital.

The bottom line is that she’s never done this. She is so woefully unprepared and can’t even fully wrap her head around what it means. She bites down on the inside of her cheek to keep from crying. She’s terrified of what’s to come. It’s not that she isn’t willing to make the sacrifice for her family and these kids, it’s that she’s scared she won’t be enough for them. She’s worried that she won’t be a good mother and won’t make Jill and Mike proud. They’ve lost enough already, she doesn’t want to make it even worse for them.

Ashlyn senses that Ali’s worries are eating her alive inside. She reaches her hand over the center console and places it on top of Ali’s folded hands. “We’ll figure it all out babe. We’ll get through this, Alex. I promise.”

The words that are meant to be comforting are suddenly taunting her. _We’ll get through this._ Ali has a sharp intake of breath when the reality hits her that Ashlyn is right in the middle of all of this with her. Suddenly, she is wracked with an overwhelming sense of guilt. She knows –at least thinks- that Ashlyn would faithfully stand by her side through anything and that this situation is no different – they live together after all. The thought still doesn’t make her feel any better. Ashlyn isn’t ready for this, she had said as much just a week ago. She’s not ready for the sleepless nights and dirty diapers and she certainly isn’t ready to make the ultimate sacrifice that Ali knows is most likely coming for her. She doesn’t want to rob her of her freedom without her even having much say in the matter.

Unsure of what to say or do Ali just feebly nods, but not before slipping her hands out from underneath Ashlyn’s. She figures it’s better to start distancing herself now for the blow that she knows is coming.

Ash can feel Ali pulling away, but decides to let it be for the moment. She doesn’t want to push Ali and to be honest she doesn’t even know how this is all going to play out. A three year old and newborn baby just over two months before the World Cup? She doesn’t see it ending well and can’t quite wrap her head around the whole thing.

Ash parks the car and gets out. While Ali usually waits for her to run around and open her door, this time she doesn’t, instead immediately cranking the door open and slipping out of the Jeep. She shoots a confused Ash a shrug before making her way into the front door with the blonde in tow.

For the first time in their life together, Ash doesn’t feel like Ali’s partner, she feels like an outsider as she trails behind her. The thought is killing her as in the uncertainty surrounding the entire situation, but she keeps a reassuring, albeit small smile tucked on her lips and doesn’t press the issue for the time being.

Ali makes her way up to the front desk awkwardly. She doesn’t even know where to begin. Does she see Ben or the baby whose name she doesn’t even know? Does the baby even have a name? These are all things she thinks she should have asked the lawyer, but it’s too late now. They’re at the hospital now and she better figure it out on her own, just like she’ll have to figure out how to raise them.

Finally a nurse looks up at her from her computer expectantly, wondering why the brunette hasn’t spoken yet.

“Um, hi. I’m Alexandra Krieger and I’m here for…um for my cousins.” She feels dumb as she fumbles over her words. They’re not just her cousins anymore, they’re _hers._

“Names?” the nurse asks as she looks to her computer screen and waits for Ali’s answer.

“Um…Benjamin Krieger and…uh, I’m not sure of the other,” she states and immediately feels dumb.

The woman at the front desk looks up at her confused and then shoots a glance to Ashlyn who quickly steps in front of Ali and leans over her elbows on the desk. “Hi, um we’re not exactly sure where to go. My girlfriend was just granted legal custody of her cousins because, um, their parents were killed in a car crash yesterday. There’s a three year old named Benjamin and…and a newborn baby girl in the NICU whose name we don’t know. I’m assuming their both under the last name Krieger,” she states with a sad expression, but promptly.

The woman now looks over at Ali sympathetically and immediately feels for the poor woman. She drops her eyes back to the computer and begins typing to look up the room locations. “Okay, Benjamin is on the fourth floor in the children’s unit is under the care of Dr. Green. It’s room 413. Baby Krieger is in the NICU which you’ll need these special passes for,” she says before sliding two visitor’s passes over the counter. “Which would you like me to take you to first?” she asks and then looks up at the couple.

Ali and Ash just shoot each other confused looks, unsure of how to approach this encounter. Ash, in typical fashion and like she has been since last night, takes charge. 

“How about you go to the NICU and I’ll check on Ben? He’ll remember me from last time. We had quite the session of hide and seek last time I saw him,” she said and flashed Ali a dimpled grin that hid her bubbling insecurities.

Ali isn’t sure about it, but doesn’t know what else to do. She doesn’t want to get Ash mixed up in it all before they even have a chance to talk, but she knows she can’t be in two places at once and she wants someone to check on Ben.

The keeper can tell Ali is having an internal dilemma and when she doesn’t answer right away, Ash tries another approach. “You need to talk to her doctor and find out what’s going on. They won’t tell me anything. I’m…I’m not family,” she finishes sadly as the realization hits her in waves.

Ali just nods and then throws her arms around the blonde to pull her in tight. “Thank you,” she whispers before pulling back, conveying so much to the blonde in just two words. “Can you take me to the NICU?” she asks the woman who nods and then slides out from behind the desk and taps her partner to let her know she’s stepping out.

Ash watches them take off in the opposite direction and takes a few deep, settling breaths. She wanders towards the elevator and hits the UP button. It quickly arrives and she steps onto the elevator before roughly jabbing the 4 button. As she hears the elevator ding and the doors open on the 4th floor she freezes momentarily. 

The past few hours she had been strong for Ali, but now she is panicking. What if Ben is seriously hurt? What if he doesn’t remember her? What if he doesn’t like her? How does she even describe what is happening if he asks? The questions are swirling through her head with every step she takes towards the room. Finally, she stops just outside Room 413. 

She’s about to turn around and head to the bathroom to splash some water on her face and compose herself when she hears a familiar giggle. It instantly calms her like strong coffee on an early morning and gives her all the courage she needs.

The second Ash steps into the room, all of her worries go rushing out the door she had just walked through as a little boy jumps out of bed and hurls himself at her. 

“Ashlyn! I missed you!” he mumbles into her legs which he has a vice grip on.

She is caught off guard that he remembered her so quickly, but it only last for a moment before she squats down and wraps her arms around the boy. “Hey, Benny! I missed you too, bud.” She quickly picks him up and walks him back over to his bed where she plops him down. Turning around, she catches the glance of an older woman who she assumes is his grandmother. “Hi, I’m…”

“I know who you are,” the woman says with a forced smile. “Ashlyn Harris, correct?” she asks over a raised eyebrow. She remembers seeing the blonde woman at her grandson’s christening with the brunette who has been granted legal guardianship of him on her arm. She eyes her up and down and is not impressed by the tattoo filled arm and surfer style the woman is sporting.

“Yes,” Ash responds politely even though she doesn’t appreciate the woman’s tone or judgmental glances. Still, it’s a trying time for the entire family and she did just lose a son and daughter-in-law. She knows the woman must be exhausted and upset and decides to let it slide. “I’m so sorry about what happened,” she says before dropping her eyes to the floor.

“Me too,” she says sadly. “I’m just so happy Benjamin and their little baby girl made it out. I wish they could have seen their baby girl. She's so beautiful.”

Ash is caught in an extremely uncomfortable position and doesn’t know what to say. “Yeah, just like her mother was," she decides on before turning back to Ben. “So how are you feeling little man?” she asks, and sinks down on the bed next to him and gently ruffles his curly blonde locks. He doesn’t appear to have any lingering injuries aside from a few scratches she assumes are from shards of glass.

“Okay,” he says softly. “I miss mommy and daddy though.” He drops his head down and looks to his fingers which are tightly holding a tiny red toy car.

Ashlyn feels her heart drop at the thought that this little boy just lost his parents and is obviously well aware of it. She doesn’t know how to approach the subject or what Ali would even want her to say though so she sits silently in thought for a moment.

Luckily, that is broken when a tall, extremely skinny man comes walking into the room. Ashlyn looks him over and thinks he could be the next forty year old virgin judging by the thick glasses and terrible comb over, but keeps the thought to herself.

“Hi, I’m Doctor Green,” he says and extends his hand to shake Ashlyn's. “Would you like to get the update on this little guy, Miss Krieger?” he asks with a smile.

“Oh…uh…I’m not Ali. I’m her girlfriend,” she stammers awkwardly.

“Sorry for the misunderstanding,” the man says and bows his head a bit. “When _Miss Krieger_ comes down, feel free to have her come see me.”

The way he says it lets Ashlyn know that he’s not going to be having a conversation on the boy’s medical status with her so she simply nods and thanks him for stopping by. Hoping to get some of the story, she turns to the older woman. “How is he doing?” she asks with a hopeful glint in her eye.

The woman takes pity on her and sighs before sitting up a bit. “He’s doing great actually. He might have some bruising show up over the next few days, but really he was just shaken up from everything,” she says quietly, he eyes never leaving the boy sitting beside Ashlyn.

“That’s good to hear,” the blonde nods. “Ali will be glad to hear that.”

“I’m assuming she’s in the NICU?” asks the older woman.

“Yes. I thought it would be better to split the duties up,” she answers flatly.

This seems to set the woman off though and she glares at Ashlyn over the brim of her rounded glasses. “Is that what you two are going to do? Split duties in raising these children?”

The question –as well as the curt tone- blows Ashlyn away. She hasn’t even had that conversation with Ali yet and now a woman she has never met is grilling her. She wishes she had spoken differently downstairs so that she was at the NICU right now and Ali was with Ben and his grandmother. Babies might cry, but at least they can’t ask questions and cast judgmental glances. She decided to just be frank with the woman and pray that Ali shows up soon to quash the tension. “We haven’t discussed anything yet,” she simply states will staring right into the old woman’s gray eyes. “We found out about everything last night after our game and drove to meet the attorney first thing in the morning and then came straight here.”

“That’s the problem right there,” scoffed the woman as she tosses her arms in the air. “You two are always out of town with your silly soccer. That’s no way to raise a child. A _good_ parent has a stable home for their children and aren’t gallivanting around the world playing a dumb game,” she states with indignation.

Ashlyn is bristled by the comment and knows that some of her teammates are the best mothers she knows with brilliant, self-confident kids. “Many of our teammates on the National Team are mothers and they are some of the best women I know,” she argues, the defensiveness in her voice clearly evident. “And I know that whatever happens, Ali will always give up whatever she has to and choose what is best for the children.”

She lets out a harsh cackle and shakes her head. “And this..this big tournament coming up. The International Cup or whatever it’s called, is she going to give that up if it comes to it? Are _you_ willing to give that up?”

The question sends Ashlyn reeling. She hadn’t even thought about the impact this would have on their careers or the possibility of not going to the World Cup. It was something they had both worked so hard for, something they dreamed about since they were little girls kicking the tops of dandelions off when they were bored at practice. Was it something Ali would honestly give up? Was it something _she_ could give up after spending a lifetime dreaming of it?

Her silence clearly irked the woman who pursed her lips and shook her head. “I don’t know how my son let Jill talk him into naming that girl as Benjamin’s guardian,” she hissed so that the little boy couldn’t hear her. “All you two are going to do is mess these kids up,” she states coldly.

It’s now taking Ashlyn everything she has not to haul off and slap the woman. She can handle the insults because truth be told even she is questioning her ability to be a good parent to them –and that’s if Ali even lets her try- but she has and always will defend Ali to the end.

She steps back and covers Benjamin’s ears so that he can’t overhear what she’s about to say. Thankfully, he’s too interested in his toy cars to care what the women are saying.

“Listen, you can say whatever you want about me, but I know that Ali will be the best mother to these kids. I honestly don’t think your son and Jill could have picked anyone better to raise their kids and I know that because she’s the woman I picked to raise mine some day. She is the kindest most selfless woman I know and will do anything for them. She’s fiercely loyal and is going to be the kind of mother that no one else wants to mess with because she will protect her children at any costs. And if it comes down to it, yes I think she would give up the _World Cup_ for them. And I would too.” The last statement she makes completely shocks her as it slips past her lips.

It also shocks Ali who is standing just outside the door, silently listening to the conversation.


	9. Very Important Job

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two updates today! My wife was out of town for work so I got so much more done lol :)

“Ali!” says a little boy’s voice as Ashlyn watches Ben run past her and wrap his arms around Ali’s legs. 

“Hey handsome!” she says happily before lifting him off the ground and wrapping him up in a tight hug. Her heart clinches at the reason she’s here, but it still feels good to hold him in her arms. “How are you feeling?” she asks as she gives Ash and the older woman a smile while taking a few more steps into the room towards the bed.

“Okay,” he replies quietly, some of the excitement leaving him already.

She sets him down and then turns to Ben’s grandmother. “And how are you, Nancy?” she asks quietly before pulling the woman into a hug, trying to ignore the anger inside of her from the conversation she secretly overheard just moments before.

“I’m alright, dear,” she says sweetly, also unaware that Ali knows how she really feels. “How’s our little girl?”

Ali sighs and casts a glance to Ashlyn. “She’s doing well actually. They say she’s a fighter and is responding pretty well to everything. Her lung function is improving as are her oxygen levels. There’s a possibility of discharging her within the next couple days,” she says cheerily as a small smile creeps across her face.

“That’s great!” Ash exclaims with a smile of her own.

“How about Ben? Any word from the doctor?” she asks, looking between the women for an answer.

Ash just shrugs, her cheery demeanor dropping a bit. “They wouldn’t talk to me since I’m not family,” she calmly states. “I can call for the doctor though if you’d like? His name is Dr. Green.”

“Sounds good,” Ali replies as she plops down on the bed next to Ben and pulls him in to her side. “Think you’re about ready to get out of here bud?” she asks with a smile.

“Yeah. I wanna go home,” he says sadly and it sends a prick of pain through the women’s hearts.

Ali’s mind is flooded with thoughts. How does she tell this little boy that he’s not going home? That he’s coming home with her…and Ashlyn? A whole new wave of thoughts washes over her when she thinks about how this is even going to work. They have extra bedrooms, but it’s asking so much of her girlfriend -almost like she’s forcing the life that was handed to her onto Ashlyn. She thinks it might just be better to move into Jill and Mike’s old house for the time being until it all gets sorted out. As painful as it will be for her to be there, at least the kids would be in a familiar place and she wouldn’t be asking Ash to commit to something she wasn’t ready for. 

She glances up and sees Ashlyn nod in confirmation, seemingly aware of the internal struggle Ali is going through at the moment. She adds this to the growing list of things they are going to have to discuss. “Benny I have something to tell you,” she begins softly. “Can you put your cars down and listen to me for a minute?”

The little boy nods and then sets his cars down on his lap before turning to look back up at the her.

“When you were born, your mommy and daddy gave me a very very special job. Do you know what that job was?” she asks as she shifts on the bed so that she can look him directly in the eyes.

“No,” he says quietly with a slow shake of his head to show his confusion.

“Well they gave me the very important job of taking care of you if something ever happened to them. How do you feel about that?” She cautiously tests the waters, hoping he would understand what she was asking.

The little boy looks up at her with a scrunched face as his three year old mind tries to make sense of her words. “You mean…like you be my mommy now?” he asks honestly and with a hint of disappointment that breaks Ali’s heart.

“Benny, I’ll never replace your mommy and daddy. No one can do that. But if it’s okay with you I’d like to look after you. I promise I’ll take the best care of you just like your mommy and daddy did before. What do you think?” she squeezes his shoulders reassuringly as she patiently waits for the answer. The one that came shocked her.

“What about my little sister? I can’t leave her here,” he says sadly. “Will you take baby Ali too?”

As Ali looks into his soft blue eyes she felt her heart break at his concern for his little sister that he hadn’t even met. She isn’t even quite sure how he found out about her since no one had discussed it directly. 

“Baby Ali?” comes Ashlyn’s confused, but soft voice from behind them. She is almost positive that Jill hadn’t named her or the woman at the front desk would have had that in her notes and she wouldn’t have been listed simply as ‘Baby Krieger’.

Ben shyly nods. “I heard my mommy talking with daddy the other day in the car. She said you were her hero and she hoped the baby girl would be a fighter just like you,” he says as he pointed his little finger right at Ali. “So she’s little Ali, right?” he asks in the most innocent voice with a shrug as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Ali’s hand immediately goes to her mouth as she felt her heart flutter at the little boy’s words. She is touched at not only her cousin’s statement, but also Ben’s interpretation of it all. “Little Ali, huh?” she asks as she ruffles Ben’s messy blonde hair.

“Mhmm,” he replies happily with a toothy grin.

She smiles. “Well Benjamin, little Ali is most certainly coming home with us and I promise to take great care of her too.”

Her statement seems to be enough for the boy who deems the conversation over as he slips off the bed to play with his cars on the ground.

Ali looks up at Ashlyn who is grinning widely. “Great. Two Ali’s to deal with,” the blonde says with a playful eye roll. “One was already a handful enough,” she adds with a wink as she squeezes Ali’s hand tightly.

Ali shakes her head, surprised that Ashlyn is already confidently speaking as if she’s going to be there, and is about to reply sarcastically when she hears the older woman clear her throat behind them. 

“Shall we get the doctor in here?” she asks curtly.

“Of course,” Ali replies and fights the urge to roll her eyes at the older woman’s obvious annoyance at their show of affection.

A few minutes later the doctor walks in with a clipboard in one hand and a sucker in the other. “How’s my favorite little patient?” he asks as he hands the sucker to Ben and sticks his hand out for a high five.

“Good,” says Ben as his eyes grow wide when the doctor hands him the giant red sucker.

“And you must be Miss Krieger?” he says, turning to Ali with a wide grin.

Ali smiles and takes his hand. “Guilty as charged,” she says. “So what’s the update on this one?” she asks while throwing her thumb over her shoulder towards the little boy. “He seems pretty okay to me,” she adds with a laugh as she watches him slide his cars around with the sucker sticking out of his mouth.

“Yes we just kept him overnight for observation mostly,” he says while looking into Ali’s eyes. “I just need you to sign the discharge papers and he’ll be good to go. Obviously if anything comes up, don’t hesitate to contact us, but he seems to be doing well.”

Ali smiles at this, knowing that at least one of the children is good to go. “Great! Let’s sign those papers.” He hands her the clipboard and she scribbles her signature on the forms where the doctor points. “Ready to get out of here, Benny?” she asks and sees the boy’s face light up.

“Can we go see baby Ali?” he asks excitedly.

“Baby Ali?” the doctor asks with a chuckle, well aware of the situation.

Ali looks back at him and replies with a shake of her head as she points to Ben. “His idea.”

“Ahh,” Dr. Green replies as he throws his head back a bit. “Goodluck with that,” he says casting a glance towards Ashlyn who just laughs herself.

“Thanks doc,” Ash replies with an amused grin as she looks down at Ben playing with his cars.

As he exits the room, things become a bit awkward again. Ali looks up to see Nancy standing by the door with her arms crossed. She’s not really sure how to proceed now that Ben is released into her care for the first time, especially since the older woman obviously has some reservations. She meets the woman’s gaze and decides to address the issue head on with the harsh words of the older woman rippling through her memory spurring her actions.

“Nancy, can I speak to you outside for a moment,” she says as politely as she can muster.

The older woman purses her lips but agrees as she starts to make her way to the door.

Ali follows and calls out behind her, “Ash, honey. Please help him get his things together.”

She shuts the door gently behind her and then meets the woman’s harrowing stare. “Nancy, first of all, I want you to know that you will always be a welcomed part of Benjamin’s life. If you ever want to see him or visit, I don’t want you to hesitate to call me. I know this is a difficult time for everyone, but I want Ben to remain close with all of his family members. That being said, when I made that commitment to my cousin and your son three years ago, I meant it wholeheartedly. Although I wish it never came to this, I take my responsibility very seriously and will do whatever is necessary to give these children the happiness they deserve.”

The older woman softens a bit as she hears Ali’s statement. Although she wishes she could be the one to care for the boy, she knows that at seventy-five she isn’t quite up for the challenge of raising a three year old and newborn. Still, she isn’t sold on the idea of the two women raising him. “I appreciate that,” she says nicely before her tone hardens a bit. “But I have concerns about you and that woman raising him.”

Her statement is very to the point and Ali simply looks at her expectantly waiting for her to list her concerns.

“You two live a very…different life in many ways.” Ali tenses at the statement, but the woman continues on. “I know you will care for them well, but I still can’t look past the fact that they won’t have father figure growing up like my son was to them. On top of that with all of your traveling how do you think they will cope? That can’t be a healthy lifestyle and that’s all I want for my grandchildren.”

The ignorant statement makes Ali want to lash out, but she takes a deep breath to maintain her cool. “I’ll have you know that many of the women on the National Team have children and they are great mothers with very well adjusted children. The experiences they share with them is something very few people in this world get to experience and I think any child would be lucky to be a part of that. And as for the ‘father figure’,” she says throwing air quotes around her words, “I think Ashlyn and I are well rounded and will give them the upbringing they need and deserve. You don’t need a mother and father to give a kid a loving home and happy childhood,” she states with a firm tone, willing the woman to understand.

She shakes her head. “And you and…Ashlyn,” she says with a taunting eye roll, “have talked about this and are committed to each other _and_ raising these children? The last thing we need is for her to flake or you two to break up because there’s more hearts at stake now,” she states simply.

Ali swallows and tries to focus. She knows she and Ashlyn haven’t talked since the lawyer’s, but hasn’t had time to process it all and isn’t exactly in the mood for a lecture from the older woman. “Yes. We are extremely committed to each other.” The statement is true, but both women know she skirted around the issue of the children. Still, she says with a sense of finality that leaves the older woman little room for argument.

"Very well. I’ll be in touch,” she says quietly as she concedes to the fired up brunette who has quickly entered into mama bear mode. “Please keep me updated on…baby Ali,” she finally adds with a soft smile.

“ _We_ will,” Ali responds with a forced smile of her own.


	10. Huge Decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments, both good and bad! They all make me better its just that some are more fun to read than others ;) lol
> 
> This chapter is the long conversation many of you have been waiting for them to have! Hopefully it explains how both of them are feeling adequately and touches on why Ali was pulling away a bit. 
> 
> Let me know what you think!

“She’s so beautiful,” Ashlyn whispers as she looks through the glass at the little baby girl lying swaddled in a crib in the NICU. Her already thick brown hair is tufting out of the blanket on top of her head and Ashlyn hopes with a smile that she gets the Krieger genes and ends up looking just like Jill and Ali. She chuckles softly to herself as she thinks about how wrapped around this baby's finger she will be, especially if it looks anything like her girlfriend.

Ali takes a moment to study her girlfriend as she looks down at baby Ali with her hand pressed tenderly to the glass as if she could actually just reach out and touch her. She can see the soft smile on her lips that doesn’t quite expose her teeth, but is present nonetheless. She takes a deep breath before turning her attention to where Ashlyn already has hers. “She is,” she breathes out with a contemplative sigh.

“I can’t believe we get to take her home with us in the morning,” Ash says warmly. As rough as the last few days have been she cannot wait to get home and settle in. 

After another day on the ventilator, her oxygen levels had recovered and her lung function was right where it should be. “She really is a little fighter like you babe.” With the hand not resting on the glass, she reaches over to grab Ali’s hand and immediately feels her tense a bit when their skin makes contact.

She knows this conversation is coming, and Ali’s words to Ben earlier ring in her ears. The two women hadn’t found alone time to really talk things through because they were with Ben since he had been released and he was being quite clingy and they didn’t feel it was a good idea to ask someone to watch him. Finally though, they find themselves alone in the hall looking into the NICU while Ben is getting dinner with Nancy before she heads back to New York City.

Unable to fight the unease that had settled in her stomach anymore, she turns to Ali. “Alex, I need you to tell me what’s going on in that pretty head of yours,” she says cautiously. She can feel Ali pulling away from her and she just needs to know where they stand, no matter what the answer may be.

Ali awkwardly rubs the back of her arm and drops her gaze to the floor. “I don’t even know where to begin, Ash,” she says softly, her voice trembling a bit. She knows what she wants, but she feels selfish asking for it. “I haven’t even had a moment to myself since this all came crashing down. I just…I don’t know.”

Ash can tell the weight of everything is weighing heavy on Ali’s shoulders and she hopes that she lets her share the burden. She hopes that Ali doesn’t retreat into her shell and shut her out for whatever reason, selfless or not. “Well I know one thing…you didn’t seem to include me in any of those plans you made with Ben. I feel like I'm planning for a future with all of us, but you're not," she states honestly as she looks up to Ali with a plaintive expression.

At her words Ali cringes and knows that she did avoid mentioning Ashlyn at all to the little boy, even though the blonde had been nothing but supportive of her. “I just…I wanted to talk to you before I said something, Ashlyn. I didn’t want to assume anything because this is a huge decision,” she says softly, hoping that Ash can sense the sincerity in her voice. Truth be told she’s struggling with it all. As much as she wants and needs Ashlyn by her side, she didn’t want to force her hand. She loved her too much to do that to her, too much to force her to make the sacrifices with her without giving her a real choice. It would only makes things more difficult and messy in the future if Ash felt like she never had a choice.

“Alex, you know that I’m going to be by your side through everything,” she says evenly. Her tone is a bit colder than intended, but she can’t deny the slight hurt she feels that Ali doubts her commitment. “I can literally feel you distancing yourself,” she adds dejectedly.

Ali pushes back from the window and takes a few steps away. Her head is spinning. Ashlyn said exactly what she wanted to hear –that she’s committed- but somehow it doesn’t make her feel any better. “I’m sorry. It’s just…I didn’t want to force your hand. I can’t expect you to do this with me, Ash,” she says with a shake of her head. “ I can’t ask that. I want you to really think about this and everything it’s going to entail before you commit.”

“You don’t have to ask me. You never had to ask,” she states with a tone of authority. “I’m in this with you. One hundred percent by your side. There’s nothing to think about.”

“You don’t even know what you’re signing up for, Ash!” The words are harsh and Ali knows it, but she can’t let Ashlyn give up her dream so easily. The blonde’s confession to Nancy earlier is weighing heavy on her mind.

“Are you serious, Al?” she asks quietly, her voice laced with sadness and completely void of anger.

Ali sighs and immediately calms her tone. “Well you said it yourself last week that you’re not ready for kids. That doesn’t exactly instill confidence in me that you want or are ready to do this.”

“And you said yourself that I’m a natural,” the blonde replies challengingly as she takes a step towards Ali to close the distance between them.

Ali takes a step back and puts her hands up for Ashlyn to stop. She knows once she’s in her arms there’s no way she’ll be able continue to divulge her side of things like she needs to. She needs to lay it all out on the table so that they’re on the same page. “That’s not the point.”

Ashlyn steps forward again, knowing Ali only has a few feet until her back hits the wall. “Then what is your point?”

“I heard what you said to Nancy about missing the World Cup… I can’t ask you to give up on your dreams like that, Ash,” she says quietly as she meets Ashlyn’s eyes, her own soft brown ones glistening with tears.

“Maybe I have a new dream to chase now!” she states incredulously and throws her hands up in the air in frustration.

An eerie calm fills the hallway as the words of Ashlyn’s confession hang heavy around them. Ali finally breaks the silence.

“I’m not going to the World Cup, Ash. We both know it,” she says sadly.

“Says who?” Ash challenges.

Ali lets out a laugh and rolls her eyes. “Says common sense, Ashlyn! I have a three year old and a baby with me now and the World Cup is not even two months away! I can’t raise them and train at the same time and I definitely cannot go to the World Cup and be traveling with them. How could you possibly think any differently?” she asks incredulously. If Ashlyn can’t see this, then she’s definitely not ready for the responsibility.

“ _We_ have a three year old and a baby,” Ashlyn corrects and finally closes the gap between them so that Ali’s back is to the wall and she can’t run from her anymore. She grabs her hands in her own and raises them so that they’re resting on her chest between them. “ _We_ will care for them and train _together_ and _we are_ going to the World Cup,” she says with enough authority that Ali almost believes her as she so desperately wants to.

“There’s no way,” she says and pushes Ashlyn backwards gently so she can slip off the wall. She shakes her head disbelievingly. “It can’t work, Ash.” She points to the NICU, “She can’t fly when she’s so little. There’s no way Jill will be so lenient with me leading up to the World Cup. She has no wiggle room, it’s win or it’s a failure. It just won’t work, Ash. It’s not possible.”

Ashlyn sighs and wishes Ali wasn’t so stubborn. She hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but she takes a deep breath and goes into her well planned speech. “I talked to the doctors, and little Ali is cleared to fly. They said travel wouldn’t be a problem with either of the kids and since you’re not breastfeeding if we have practice or something, the team nanny can feed her and care for her. I called Jill and surprisingly she was very willing to make some exceptions for the best right back in the world,” she says with a soft smile as she tried to judge Ali’s apprehensive expression. 

 

“She told me arrangements would be made and we’d have our own room throughout the entire camp and in Canada and that we could take a bit of extra time getting to the Cali camp to let things settle as long as we were working with Chris to keep our fitness up and skills sharp. U.S. Soccer is already working on getting rushed passports for them and Chris, by the way, is totally on board and even said he can come to us some days if need be. Then I called Christie and she gave me tons of pointers and tips and agreed to help as much as she could every step of the way. I even called Boxxy and Arod and they had the same sentiment. The support group on this team is amazing Ali and I honestly think that’s exactly where we need to be, with our other family. _We_ can do this, Ali. We can do this together. I just need you to trust me. I’m not going anywhere. My place is with you, Ben and little Ali…wherever you go.”

Ali’s eyes are brimming with tears as she looks up at Ashlyn and sees her hopeful, pleading expression. She’s touched that the keeper went through so much effort to check into everything and immediately can feel the waves of reassurance washing over her that Ashlyn is one hundred percent in. “Ash, we can’t make any promises. What if it’s not best for them? What if Ben needs time to settle in?”

“Obviously they come first. But Alex, the kid wouldn’t stop talking about how cool it is when he watches us on TV and that he wants to be a famous soccer player like us one day and travel the world. This could literally be the best thing for him to keep his mind off of the sad things that have happened and get him to open up a bit more. And what’s the different if we sit at home with baby Ali or in a hotel room in California? Sure, we won’t be able to go out with the girls and we’ll miss out on some of the day trips they take on off days, but I don’t care about any of that. I only care about you and our family.”

Ali can feel her heart bursting with happiness. “Are you sure? I can’t make any promises, Ash. In the end if going doesn’t feel right, I’m going to do what is best for them no matter how hard the decision,” she states cautiously, but holds her breath waiting for confirmation.

“I feel the same way and wouldn't expect anything less. It’s probably going to be hell,” she starts as her mind wanders to getting up for an 8am training after being up with a crying baby all night, “but it’ll be worth it, Alex. We’ll take it one step at a time, okay? And we’ll both need to be one hundred percent honest with each other about how we’re feeling.” She wraps her arms around Ali’s waist and pulls her in. “I’m in. Are _you_?”

With a deep breath in, Ali pulls Ash in for a deep kiss. It’s answer enough.


	11. We Got It From Here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally bringing the little family home! Also, a lot of you are posting very valid questions and points and they will all be answered in due time :) didn't want to cram it all in so some of the details and background stuff will be coming out over the next few chapters. Hope you enjoy!

“Where are we even supposed to put all of this shit?” Ashlyn asks as she lugs yet another box loaded with toys into their colonial style house.

They had just spent the better part of a day combing through Jill and Mike’s house sorting out everything that the kids would need and Ashlyn honestly couldn’t wrap her head around why they needed so many bibs and multiple sets of the same book.

“Watch your mouth, Ash,” Ali lightly chastises her as she takes the box labeled **MORE TOYS** from Ash and sets it on the growing stack in their living room. Even though her mother had the kids for the time being at the park on the cool spring day while they got everything set up, she wants the blonde to get in the habit of checking her occasionally dirty mouth.

“Sorry,” Ash says tiredly as she sinks down into their black leather couch. “I just don’t even know where half of this stuff is going to go,” she admits.

“We’ll figure it out babe,” Ali supplies with an encouraging smile. “Luckily, we had planned for the future so we have enough bedrooms.”

“Yeah,” Ash lets out a hollow laugh. “You think they’ll like it here?” she asks with a hint of nervousness that Ali finds absolutely endearing. 

“I think they’ll be just fine, Ash. Now you want me to help you bring in the crib so we can get it set up in baby Ali’s room?” 

Ash rolls her eyes. “I still can’t believe we let Benny talk us into that,” she says with a chuckle. “I meant what I said about dealing with one Ali being more than enough. Now I’ve got two princesses to handle,” she adds in mock exasperation.

“Oh shush, Harris,” Ali replies with a wide grin. “Now are you coming to help with this crib or not?” she calls out over her shoulder as she makes her way out to the black Jeep Wrangler that’s parked in the driveway. 

Ash shakes her head and quickly hurries after her girlfriend knowing the brunette hates waiting. She grabs the opposite corner of the dark wooden crib and her and Ali make quick work of carrying it to the baby girl’s new room which was located right down the hall from their master bedroom.

“I wish I would have had time to paint their rooms,” Ash says regretfully as they place it up against the wall.

“Me too,” Ali agrees as she looks around the nursery. She’s struck by how much it looks like the nursery her cousin had set up at her own home.

The dark stained wooden furniture, crib, dresser bookshelf and changing table are all in pristine, unused condition and easily fit in the larger room at the women’s house. There’s a white rocking chair with a light pink cushion tucked into one corner which Ali had draped a pink and grey fleece blanket with little elephants on it over the arm.

Ashlyn can sense that she is deep in thought as she looks at the way she’s biting the inside of her cheek. She walks over and wraps her arms around Ali, pressing her front into the defender’s back. “Why don’t you go put Ben’s clothes away in his dressers and I’ll hang some of the picture frames in here, okay?”

Ali nods as she leans her head back onto Ashlyn’s chest. “Sure. I’ll call my mom and let her know she can bring the kids by in a few hours too. Okay?”

Ashlyn takes a deep breath and nods. “Ready as I’ll ever be,” she says with a low chuckle. 

Ali turns and places a kiss on the keeper’s cheek before making her way out of the room. She wanders to the room across the hall, which is set up for the little boy. They had opted to keep the furniture that was already in there, only taking the bed from Benjamin’s room at his old house. Ashlyn had wasted no time hanging all of his posters and pictures up on the wall, especially loving the giant U.S. Soccer Ali Krieger poster that he demanded be hung on the wall next to his bed. What had once been their second spare bedroom, now served as the perfect retreat for sport’s loving little boy, especially since the women had picked out a rug for the wooden floor in his bedroom that mirrored a soccer field. 

She pushes a few boxes across the floor towards the dresser and then sits down next to it to begin filtering clothes into tall oak dresser that once sat in the spare bedroom completely empty. 

After finishing up unloading the boxes, she grabs them and carries them to the garage to toss in the recycle bin. She’s about to head back in the house when she hears a horn honking and turns around.

Her mother pulls into the driveway and waves with a large grin. Ali smiles as well and takes a deep breath to calm her escalating nerves. She pokes her head back into house and calls out, “Ash, my mom is here!” 

The blonde keeper quickly comes thundering down the hallway and Ali chuckles at the sight. “You sure you’re ready for this, Ash?” she asks with a serious face as she holds out a hand to halt the keeper. She knows she should stop asking, but honestly wants Ash to be honest and get out before it’s too late if she can’t handle it. 

Ashlyn slides to halt in front of her and nods. She grabs Ali’ hands and gives them a squeeze. “We got this,” she states confidently, both answering her question and building up the defender’s confidence in herself.

“Okay,” Ali whispers as she leans into Ashlyn’s embrace. “Let’s go relieve Deb from her duties,” she adds as she pulls away and walks out of the front of the garage towards her mother’s black SUV.

“Hey, honey!” Deb says sweetly as she steps out of the driver’s side of the car. “How are you holding up?”

Ali searches her mother’s eyes and can catch the sympathy behind them. She had offered to take Ben and little Ali for the two months with camp and the World Cup, knowing how difficult it would be for the pair to focus on their lifelong dreams, but though they were gracious for the officer Ali and Ashlyn had very pointedly refused. This was their commitment and they weren’t going to pass the newly orphaned children around during what was most certainly an important adjustment and bonding period for them. After much discussion, they agreed she could help out while they were in Canada, especially during game days and when they were swamped with prep, there was no way that they would go to Canada without them. A quick call to Jill was enough to secure her a hotel room from the U.S. Soccer block where they would be staying.

“I’m doing well mom,” she says as she leans into her mother’s warm embrace. “Ash is too,” she adds before pulling back and peeking through the window into the backseat of the car. 

She is met with a familiar pair of baby blue eyes and a smile instantly lights up her face. “Hey, Ben!” she calls excitedly and yanks the back door open. 

Ben looks up at her with tired eyes, clearly exhausted from his eventful day at the park. “Hi,” he mumbles shyly as he snuggles up into his small fleece blanket which had a smattering of animals on it.

“He’s pretty worn out,” Deb says with a laugh as she watches the interaction. “He had quite a fun time playing on the swings.” 

“I’m sure he did,” Ash interjects as she walks up to the SUV. “And how is my little princess?” she asks Deb as she wraps the older woman up in a hug.

“I’m doing great, Ash,” Ali jokes as she continues unbuckling Ben from his car seat and then pulls him into her arms. 

Ali’s mother lets out a chuckle as she releases the keeper from her arms and gives her shoulder a light squeeze. “I think you’re going to have to get used to the fact that you’re not Ash’s only princess anymore,” she teases with a glance towards her daughter before pulling open the other door so Ash can grab baby Ali.

“We’ll see about that,” Ali grumbles as she gives Ben a kiss on his forehead. He snuggles closer into her, suddenly shyer than he’s ever been before. 

With Ash carrying the newborn, Ali holding a sleepy little boy and Deb carrying in the diaper bag, the three women make their way into the house. 

“You girls need anything else?” Deb asks a few minutes later after they settle down in the living room. She glances at Ashlyn who is lying on the recliner with baby Ali in on her chest with an arm wrapped protectively around her and Ben who is on the couch, eyes closed with his head in Ali’s lap. 

“I think we got it from here,” Ali replies as she smiles down at Ben and runs her fingers through his blonde locks. She glances back up at her mother and can see the pride beaming through her eyes.

“If you need anything let me know. Your father and I are here, for both of you,” she adds and casts a glance to Ashlyn whose already struggling to keep her eyes open now that she’s comfortably reclined.

“Thanks, Deb Deb,” Ash replies as she fights back a yawn. 

“I’ll see you girls later,” she says, knowing it’s time to let the little family start trying to figure things out for themselves. She pulls open the front door and is about to step out, when she turns around and adds with a knowing smile, “Remember, the first nights always the worst." She pauses briefly before adding, "And all the nights after that don't get much easier either," as she slips out the door.


	12. A Good Different

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First nights the hardest!

Ashlyn doesn’t even think she’s been asleep for more than a few hours before she’s woken up with a gentle poke. Her eyes slowly peel open when she feels another finger jab into her arm and she is met with a pair of groggy blue eyes. She glances at the clock which reads 2:15am and slowly sits up to wipe the sleep from her eyes.

“What’s up buddy?” she asks, her voice raspy from the dry heat in the house.

“Can’t sleep,” he offers simply as he blinks innocently a few times. “I sleep here?”

The way his high pitched voice gets even higher melts Ashlyn’s heart and she glances behind her to see if it’s okay with Ali, but finds the bed next to her cold and empty. She figures she must be in the other room with little Ali so she flicks the sheets off and slides out of the bed.   
“Sure thing, Benny,” she says as she scoops the little boy off the floor and into her arms. “But first let’s go check on our girls,” she says through a yawn.

She plods down the hall with a sleepy Ben held tightly in her arms -managing to let out only one swear word when she stubs her toy on a toy Ben must have left in the hallway- and makes her way to the nursery. With her free hand she pushes the door open and smiles. An exhausted Ali is sitting in the rocking chair, holding the little girl in her arms while rocking the back and forth slowly.

“What are you doing in here, Alex?” Ash whispers as she takes in Ali’s half open eyes and zombie like state through the soft glow of the moonlight creeping in through the crack in the curtains.

Ali looks up, caught off guard that Ash is suddenly standing before her and the keeper realizes just how zoned out she is. “She wouldn’t stop crying,” Ali offers. Ash feels bad that she hadn’t woken up, but she is definitely the heavy sleeper between the two so it was to be expected. As Ali looks up she sees Ash is holding Benjamin in her arms. “What are you two doing up?” she asks with a tone of motherly concern that Ash finds absolutely adorable.

“He couldn’t sleep,” Ash says with a shrug before planting a kiss on the top of his blonde head.   
“You should come to bed baby,” she adds when she looks back to Ali whose eyes have begun to close again.

“I just got her to sleep,” Ali whines. “I don’t want to wake her up,” she adds tiredly. After spending the better part of an hour trying to calm the crying infant, there’s no way she’s going to chance waking her up again.

“Alex, you need to get some sleep,” Ash tries to reason with her. “Why don’t you take Ben to bed with you and I’ll make sure little Ali goes down in her crib, okay?”

Ali thinks to argue, but honestly doesn’t think she can even keep her eyes open anymore. She carefully stands up with the baby in her arms and then gently hands her off to Ashlyn after she set Ben down.

“Hi baby girl,” Ashlyn coos quietly as she begins bouncing her knees slightly in an attempt to keep the baby sleeping. When she sees that her eyes are still closed she looks up at Ali who is now holding Ben, his head tucked tightly into her neck. “I got her,” she whispers and then gently nudges Ali out the door. “I’ll come to bed after I put her down,” she adds as Ali mindlessly nods and makes her way with Ben to the master bedroom.

Fifteen minutes later, after Ashlyn has settled Ali back into her crib and decided she waited long enough to make sure she wasn’t going to wake up right away, she climbs into bed where her girlfriend and Ben are already passed out. Benjamin is sprawled out in between them with both arms outstretched all the way and Ash can’t fight the smile that falls over her lips as she sees Ali’s arms instinctively placed over the boy. _Glad we settled on the King bed_ , is the last thought that passes through her mind before sleep quickly overtakes her.

_______

 

The next morning comes too quickly and this time it is Ashlyn that wakes up to a screaming baby on the monitor. She quickly shuts it off to keep it from waking Ali and Ben before heading to the nursery.

“Morning princess,” she says as she gently scoops the little girl from the crib and looks at the clock on the wall which is mocking her with a time of 7:15am. Figuring she’s hungry, Ash makes her way down the hall to the kitchen and heats up a bottle for her. “You’ve got quite a set of lungs on you,” she says with a chuckle as she settles into the recliner and leans back in it. Luckily, the little girl is hungry and eagerly takes the bottle Ash holds up to her.

She sighs contently, thankful as the sound of silence once again fills the room. It’s really the first time since everything happened that she had a moment of peace -if you could call carefully cradling a newborn that could start screaming at a moment’s notice, peace- and she lets her mind begin to wander.

She thinks about how quickly things have changed and that nothing is ever going to quite the same. Not that she ever doubted her future with Ali, but she just didn’t think it would be thrust on her so quickly. There’s nothing she wouldn’t do for her girlfriend, which is how she realized that Ali was her forever, but she still can’t help but think about the things she’s bound to miss out on. She’s sure the World Cup and Olympics are going to be so different than she pictured them and for just a brief moment allows herself to wish that this could have happened two years later when she would have been more prepared for it. Two years later so that she could enjoy the big tournaments freely with nothing tying her down.

“You look like you’re thinking pretty hard over there, stud,” comes a tired voice from across the room.

Ash lifts her eyes to meet Ali’s sleepy brown eyes and forces herself to smile a bit. “Where’s Ben?” she asks in an attempt to change the conversation, suddenly feeling guilty about the thoughts rattling around in her mind.

“He’s still sleeping,” Ali says with a yawn before walking over and sitting down on the arm of   
the recliner next to her. “Don’t try to change the conversation,” she adds with a knowing look and slips her arm around the keeper’s shoulder. “What’s going on in that head of yours” she asks as she carefully runs her fingers through the keeper’s messy blonde hair.

Ash sighs and knows there’s no way around it. She looks up and for a brief moment, Ali thinks she’s honestly about to bail. She looks deep into her tired, hazel eyes and thinks that Ash has finally realized this life isn’t for her.

“Ash…talk to me,” she pleads, hoping doesn’t drag her confession out.

Ashlyn can tell her girlfriend is panicking and reaches out with her free arm to take Ali’s hand. “Alex, relax,” she says calmly. “I’m not going anywhere.” Her words set Ali’s mind at ease somewhat, but Ali still isn’t completely assured so she continues. “Yeah, I’m freaking out a bit and if day one is any indication of the next few years of my life, I’m going to have to learn to live on less than my normal ten hours of sleep, but I’m not going anywhere. I was just thinking about how different things are going to be now. That’s all. A good different, though.” She gives Ali’s hand a squeeze and then slides her arm back to pull the bottle from baby Ali’s mouth now that’s she’s finished it. She sets it on the end table next to her. “Can you start some coffee?” she asks as she begins to rock in the recliner.

“Sure thing,” Ali readily agrees and hops off the chair. “I’ll start some breakfast too. Eggs and pancakes okay with you?”

Ashlyn nods and smiles back at Ali as she watches her begin preparing breakfast. Even though it’s a scene that’s played for her a million times, it somehow feels more domestic now. Maybe it’s the fact that there’s an infant sleeping on her chest or a little boy sprawled out in their bed, but suddenly Ash is grinning like a fool. That is until Ali’s words pull her back to reality.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay watching them by yourself while I go work out with Chris at noon?”

Ashlyn’s eyes go wide as she stares at Ali with a shocked expression. “Uh…um…that’s today already?” she asks, instantly wanting to kick herself as the words leave her mouth.

“Yes...” Ali says as she reads her girlfriends panicked face. “You meet with him at 9 and then I go at noon. Is that okay?” she asks and then quickly adds, “I can ask my mom to come help you if you’d like.” She means it as an out for Ashlyn, but the keeper feels like she’s questioning her abilities.

“I can handle it,” Ash states coldly with more attitude than intended and than what would have come out had she received more than five or six hours of sleep.

“Okay,” Ali replies shortly and then turns her attention back to the bowl that she’s cracking eggs over.

______

 

“Hey baby,” Ali says in as chipper a tone as she can manage when Ashlyn walks back in the door, sporting a shirt drenched in sweat. “How was your workout?” she asks as she leans in to give the blonde a kiss while making sure not to crush the baby in between them.

“Exhausting,” she says as she plops down on the couch next to Ben who is coloring in a Spongebob Squarepants book that they had brought from his old house. “How are things here?” Ash mindlessly picks up a color and scoots Ben over so she can join him in coloring the picture on the page.

Ali smiles as she watches the blonde stick her tongue out -something she does when she’s in deep concentration- and then walks over to join them on the couch. “It was good. Only one temper tantrum from Ben and little Ali only cried for half an hour before I could calm her down,” she says sarcastically.

“Gee, I can’t wait for you to leave me to fend for myself,” Ash says as she casts Ali a commiserating grin.

Ali playfully slaps Ash on the arm. “Oh you’ll be fine,” she says with an eye roll.” Don’t tell me the big bad Ashlyn Harris is scared of an innocent baby and adorable three year old,” she says with a laugh. “What would your fans think of you?”

Ash joins in on the laughter for a moment before shaking her head. “That actually brings up a good point. I know the plan was to continue keeping everything on the down low with all the media attention for the World Cup, but I think this,” she says and points to them all scrunched on the couch, “might make that a bit difficult.”

It’s a valid point and Ali knows it. With the extra attention, they had decided to keep things more private, not that they were ever super public about their relationship, so that the focus would solely be on them as soccer players and not team dynamic issues that the media would be sure to jump on if they went public. That seems to be out the window though because a story like this is certainly going to get some attention, especially when pictures begin to surface of the two of them carrying two kids around all camp. “Yeah, I guess we can’t really cover this one up,” she says with a laugh. “It’s not so easy to explain away two children and I’m sure the media will catch onto the story pretty quick.”

“Exactly,” Ashlyn agrees with a sigh.

It’s never been about hiding their relationship, more so just respecting Ali’s wishes to keep her private life private, something that many players on the team practiced. Hell, Leroux had just shocked the soccer world with the announcement that she was married, a month after she announced she was dating Dom and no one even knew who Wambach was dating until rumors started swirling that she was getting married. While some players didn’t mind the spotlight, Ashlyn definitely fell into that category but it was just in her nature, others liked to avoid the media and keep things closer to the vest.

She knew that Ali fell into the later category and had just accepted it from day one without much reservation. It didn't mean that Ali loved her any less or wasn’t comfortable being out, it’s just that she wanted to keep her private life to herself and Ashlyn could easily respect that, especially since they played for the same teams which only added another layer of complexity. However, that notion seems to be in the past and she knows things are definitely about to change. She just hopes it doesn’t push Ali too far out of her comfort zone, she knows how ruthless the media can be when they latch onto a story.

“I…I think we should get ahead of the story.”

Her words completely catch Ashlyn off guard. “Um…what?”

“Ash, they are going to twist this into so many different things and we can’t just play it off as you being a roommate who is helping me raise two children I just adopted from my cousin who passed away. It’s sounds ridiculous with me even just saying it aloud. I think we need to talk to Jill first, but if we come forward with a statement and give it to a journalist we know and trust to run with the story I think it’ll be smoother.”

Ash thinks on it a minute before nodding. “Yeah I mean I guess it’s going to be messy either way. Are you sure you’re okay with this though?” She thinks back on everything Ali has done, everything they’ve done to get to this point – on the World Cup roster- and feels a sense of sadness that _this_ is the story that will circulate around them. At a time when Ali is being thrust into the spotlight, the questions won’t be about how primed she is for 2011 revenge or how in form she looks; it will be about how she plans to function at peak level with severe lack of sleep and how her and Ashlyn dating impacts the team. Still, she knows there’s no way around it.

Ali leans in and lays her head on the keeper’s shoulder. “Yes, I’m sure,” she states confidently. “Ash, you’ve been nothing short of amazing during this time and that’s exactly what I’ll tell them when they ask. Just like Syd would say how supportive Dom is with her career or Rampone talking about Chris helping her with the kids during big tournaments. There’s no difference.”

Her last sentence is spoken with so much assurance that Ash can’t help but smile at her girlfriend’s confidence. _Things definitely have changed_. “Okay then. Let’s call Jill.”


	13. We Do Not Draw On the Walls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ashlyn is at home with the kids for the first time alone and fun times are NOT had by all lol

“So…” Ash states awkwardly as Ben stares up at her intently, green crayon still tucked gently in his fist. “What do you want to do now?” she asks. They’ve already colored at least four pictures in his coloring book and watched what feels like hours of cartoons, but when Ash casts her eyes to the clock she can’t believe it’s only been an hour since Ali’s been gone. It feels like so much longer and since she’s exhausted from her workout all she really wants to do is curl up in bed and take a nap. “Want to take a nap?” she asks, hoping she can coax him into it.

The little boy wrinkles his face and feverously shakes his head side to side. “No!”

_Well there goes that idea_ , Ash thinks with a sad chuckle as she begins mindlessly flipping through the TV channels hoping something will magically capture his attention. He seems to be growing more impatient by the minute and the keeper is actually quite terrified of what might happen if he hits a breaking point, something they had been fortunate enough to avoid for the first few days. “How about some lunch?” she asks while making as excited a face as she can muster.

“Pizza!” he shouts ecstatically and throws his hands in the air.

Ash thinks on it for a moment, but knows there’s no way Ali would let them order pizza for lunch, especially not on their current nutrition plan leading up to the Cup. “I don’t think so, buddy. How about a sandwich?” she offers up instead.

“I want pizza!” he says again, this time a bit louder with a little more whine and Ashlyn is beginning to sweat as she looks to baby Ali peacefully sleeping in her bassinet. She’s never actually gotten this close to a meltdown on the parent side of things. This is usually when she would hand Reece, Zoe or Ryan back to their mothers to deal with. She knows she’s walking a dangerous line -especially with a baby that she finally got to sleep after an hour sitting right beside her- and desperately searches for a lifeline.

“How about if you eat a sandwich we can get you some dessert?” she reasons with a pleading tone, though it’s lost on the little boy. She hates herself for begging a toddler, but knows she hasn’t quite mastered the art of the mom voice yet so she prays it works.

Ben pushes himself up from the floor, his face clad with a frown that any other time Ash would have thought was adorable and stares back at her. “Pizza, pwease?” he asks, now in a sad tone that almost breaks her resolve, almost.

“We don’t have any pizza here little man,” she lamely offers, knowing he wouldn’t know the difference. “Let’s go to the kitchen and see what else we can find.” She hopes this works. She read once in a magazine or some online Buzzfeed article that it’s good to give kids options because it lets them feel empowered or some shit like that.

“NO!” he screams with a stomp of his little foot and this time she is not lucky enough to have him avoid waking up the baby. Little Ali is suddenly wailing, which only makes the situation worsen as Ben’s eyes go wide at the sudden shriek filling the room. As Ash looks up from where the baby is crying to Ben she can see his bottom lip begin to tremble. She tries to reach out to him, to stop the tantrum before it starts, but he pushes her hand off and runs away to his room screaming, “I HATE YOU!”

The blonde freezes in place, completely unsure of how to proceed. There’s a crying baby to one side of her and on the other side of the house is a pouting toddler in the throes of a tantrum. She can feel her heart rate begin escalating as the noises around her grow even louder and fill her mind. Quickly, she bends down and gently pulls Ali into her arms. She starts bouncing her in her arms, trying to calm her with words and a rocking motion as she spins around cursing while looking for the pacifier she seems to be unable to locate. “Fuck it,” she grumbles and gives up on finding it before making her way to Ben’s room cradling the baby in her arms.

When she enters his room, her jaw drops. Clenched in his fist is a thick, black marker that he must have grabbed off the coffee table in the living room as he made his exit and he is frantically scribbling all over the walls. She can’t even believe how much damage he has done in less than a minute, but laughs internally at the irony of it all; seems like she will be painting his room after all. “BENJAMIN, NO!” she calls in the sternest voice she can muster as she steps into the room.

The boy whips around and her heart breaks as she sees the tears spilling over his reddened cheeks. Still, she knows she has to keep up a strong front. “Give me the marker,” she demands as she pulls one arm off the still crying baby and sticks her hand out towards him. When he doesn’t comply she adds, “NOW,” in a bit more of a commanding tone.

His face scrunches up, but after wiping his own tears away roughly, he jams the marker into her hand maintaining a pouty face to remind her of his displeasure. 

Ash takes the marker and shoves it into her back pocket and then bends her knees a bit to get eye level with him before placing a hand on his shoulder. “We do not draw on the walls ever, Benjamin. Do you understand?” Her tone has softened a bit, but still shows that she means business.

He sniffles a little, but nods.

Ash wants to wrap him up in her arms right there, but knows she needs to put her foot down in this instance. Besides, she needs to take care of Ben so she can figure out what is making Ali still cry. “Now I’m going to need you to stay in your room for a few minutes while I get your little sister situated. I will be in to finish our talk soon. Can you do that for me?”

The fight has already left this boy and she can tell by the sad glimmer in his bright blue eyes. He nods and then wipes the rest of his tears away with balled fists. “O…Okay,” he gets out through broken breaths.

“Okay,” she says as she stands up, adding, “Good boy,” as she makes her way out of the room.

As soon as she steps out of the room and has nothing else to distract her, she can really hear how loud Ali is crying. “Shhhhh, it’s okay little princess,” she coos in a calming voice. “It’s okay baby girl.” She walks to the nursery and finally finds a binky and gently sticks it in her mouth. The sound of silence is music to her ears, but only lasts a second before she has pushed it out of her mouth and begins shrieking again.

“Damnit,” Ash mutters under her breath as she carefully squats down to pick it up from the ground. She contemplates sticking it in again, but feels guilty from even the thought so she trudges to the kitchen and tosses it into the sink to wash later as she sets to making a bottle which she hopes will do the trick.

Ten minutes later, baby Ali still hasn’t stopped crying and Ashlyn literally wants to pull her hair out. The thought crosses her mind that it might actually be less painful than what she’s currently experiencing when the baby rejects the bottle yet again, deciding to keep crying, going on what feels to Ash like three hours. She sets the bottle down on the end table and digs her phone out before plopping down carefully in the leather recliner with Ali in her arms. With a sigh she keeps rocking Ali in her arms as she shoots a text to her brother.

 

**Ash: I am going CRAZY here**

**Chris: Aw first day as a new mommy a little rough? Lol ;)**

**Ash: I’m not kidding…**

**Chris: What’s wrong?**

**Ash: Alex left for training and I’m here by myself. Ben threw a tantrum and made a mess while yelling that he hates me and little Ali won’t stop crying. I don’t know what to do…**

**Chris: Aw it’ll get better baby sis**

**Ash: It hasn’t even been two hours Chris. I’ve been alone with them for less than two hours and I already suck. I can’t do this!**

**Chris: Ash you’ll be fine. You can handle this.**

**Ash: I obviously love her Chris, but this is insane! I’m not cut out for this. I can’t…**

 

She finally gets Ali to take the bottle just as her phone begins to ring. She grabs it from her lap after angling the bottle for a moment so it doesn’t become dislodged. Seeing it’s Chris she accepts the call with a loud sigh.

“Sounds pretty quiet over there,” her brother says with a chuckle when he doesn’t hear a wailing baby.

“Not funny, Chris. I can’t do this!” she whines while wedging the phone between her ear and shoulder so she can adjust the bottle for Ali.

“Ash, you knew this was going to be hard. Being a new parent is never easy, especially the way it was dealt to you two. You just have to hang in there.” When he is met with silence on the other end, he prods some more. “Do you honestly think you can’t do this, Ashlyn?”

“I’m just scared, Chris. I’m not good at it! I just…I don’t want to let Alex or these kids down,” she says in a trembling voice, willing herself not to cry. The house has already seen too many tears in the last few hours and she doesn’t want to add to it. 

“Ash, it’s your first time alone with them and you haven’t gotten to bond with Ben yet so it’s still awkward. I know you and I know that you can handle this Ashlyn. You will be a great mother.”

His words perk her up a bit, “You really think so? You don’t think I’m going to mess this up?”

“I know so Ash. You are allowed to be scared and nervous, but I know that you love Alex and even though it’s only been a few days I know you love those kids too and will treat them like your own. You got this, baby sis.”

Unsure whether it’s Chris’s comforting words or the fact that she has had over five minutes of silence for the first time all day, she finally smiles. “You’re right. Thanks for the pep talk big brother.”

“No problem. I’m always here if you need to talk, or vent,” he adds with a chuckle.

“You got it. Love you.”

“Love you too, Ash.”

She hangs up the phone and looks to the sleeping baby girl in her arms that has just finished off her bottle. Her eyes are slightly open and Ashlyn thinks for the first time, she is actually seeing her. She has tiny, light brown eyes that remind her of her girlfriend and the cutest button nose that she can’t help but lean in and kiss. “I'm just warning you that I might not always be good at this," she whispers to the little girl in her arms as she looks deep into her eyes for the first time, "but I promise I'm going to try my very hardest for you three." A wide, toothy grin spreads across Ashlyn's face when she sees little Ali's tiny lips curl up into a smile of her own. "I love you little princess,” she whispers against her tiny forehead as she leans in to kiss it.


	14. Something Like That

Ali walks into the house and exhaustively tosses her keys onto the kitchen counter while slipping her shoes off. Missing a few days of training from being at the hospital and funeral combined with her limited fitness from the concussion recovery is currently causing her whole body to ache after the paces Chris just put her through. She wishes she could just shower and pass out in bed with Ash like they normally would, but is quickly reminded that things are different now when she sees toys, coloring books and drawing utensils littering the living room in front of her.

She wonders where her little clan is and quickly goes in search of them, especially nervous when she doesn’t hear them. She pokes her head out the back door, but quickly shuts it when she doesn’t see the trio out there. After checking the nursery and Ben’s room she finally ends up in front of the master bedroom door and gently pushes it open. The sight in front of her is so touching that it makes her gasp and she quickly covers it with the palm of her hand.

Ashlyn is laid on her back snuggled under the covers with one arm wrapped protectively around little Ali who is lying on her chest and the other curled tightly around Ben who is nuzzled into her side with his head on her shoulder. A light snoring fills the room and Ali can’t tell if it’s from Ashlyn or Ben as she pulls her phone out and snaps a quick picture of her three sleeping loves.

She sneaks back out of the room so as not to disturb them and makes her way to the guest bathroom. After a quick shower, she tosses on a pair of black Nike shorts and a loose grey t-shirt before padding back into the room and slipping under the covers to snuggle up into the other side of her girlfriend. She places her hand gently on little Ali’s back and rubs it for a moment as she drifts off to sleep, joining the rest of her family.

______

Ashlyn is the first to wake up a few hours later and is momentarily confused as to why she can’t move her limbs. As she lifts her groggy head and looks around, she quickly realizes why she is pinned in place. With an infant lying on her chest and her girlfriend and Ben draped over each of her sides, there really is nowhere for her to move. She thinks to close her eyes and try to go back to sleep –which is now a very precious commodity- but unfortunately her slight movement has already awoken Ben and she takes a right hook to the eye as the little boy unknowingly stretches out his arms right into her unsuspecting face.

He lets out a cute little yawn while he does it though and Ash just blinks back the tears since she doesn’t want to upset him.

“Hey Benny,” she whispers and plants a kiss on top of his head.

“Hi,” he whispers shyly as he turns in her arms to meet Ashlyn’s big hazel eyes. “Sorry I was mean,” he says quietly, remembering how upset he had made the blonde earlier when he yelled that he hated her. After a long talk -which Ashlyn was proud she kept her emotions in check for- after she got off the phone with Chris and little Ali fell asleep, they had worked through it and she had even managed to get the little blonde boy gobble down a Nutella sandwich with her, which she made him promise not to tell Ali about.

“It’s okay,” she says with a light kiss to his nose. “You’re still my favorite little man, okay?”

“Okay,” he says a bit more excitedly which finally wakes her sleeping girlfriend.

“Hey sleepyhead,” Ash greets with a warm smile when she feels Ali stir next to her.

She just sighs and buries her head into Ashlyn’s neck to fight off the impending doom of waking up. Just that small movement already has her body twanging in pain.

“You okay there?” Ash asks with a chuckle when she feels Ali’s body tense next to her.

Ali just groans and shakes her head slowly, ignoring Ash laughing at her bed head and disheveled appearance. “Chris killed me today,” she says in a whiny voice that Ashlyn doesn’t hear her use often. She knows the brunette must really be exhausted, especially when she’s trying to get back in shape. She was maintaining her fitness, but Ali was building it and she definitely didn’t envy her.

“Sorry babe,” she whispered before turning her attention back to Ben who has begun to poke her cheek. “What’s up buddy?”

“Can we pway outside?” he asks with his big blue eyes shining.

Now it’s Ali’s turn to laugh as Ashlyn groans. “Sure bud. Why don’t you go get your shoes, but make sure you’re quiet so you don’t wake your sister.”

“Okay,” he whispers holding his finger up to his lips to show Ash he understood. “Sleep tight baby Ali,” he says softly and plants a kiss on her tiny hand which is resting on Ashlyn’s chest.

As he slides off the bed and runs off to his room Ashlyn turns her head again to meet Ali’s gaze with a grin.

“Hey,” she says softly.

“Hi,” Ali replies, blinking through her sleepy eyes. “I see you had a pretty easy time while I was gone. You just got to take a nice long nap cuddled up with our cuties,” she adds with a chuckle.

Ashlyn can’t help but roll her eyes at the statement which couldn’t be further from the truth. “Something like that,” she grumbles before Ali shuts her up with a tender kiss that the keeper wishes she could get lost in. She thinks to tell Ali what really happened, but doesn’t want her to doubt her abilities so she lets it drop. “Want me to put her in her crib while I go play with Ben or do you want to lay with her?” she asks to change the subject.

Ali contemplates it for a moment before replying. “Why don’t you give her to me and I’ll put her in the jumper? I’m actually going to get up with you guys. I have to get dinner started and we have to start thinking about packing,” she adds softly while she tries to judge the blonde’s reaction.

It dawns on Ashlyn when she looks at her watch that camp had started today for the rest of the team that wasn’t playing an NWSL game that weekend. Though Jill had told them they could take a week before she would consider replacing them on the named roster, they decided it would be best to get there as early as possible as long as the kids were comfortable so they could figure out sooner rather than later if being at camp with two kids was something they could handle. The sooner they figured it out, the sooner they could let Jill know their intentions so she could bring in other players for the tune up games. It was a unique situation and even though Jill had brought in an additional defender and goal keeper to train with the team just in case, they knew she was being extremely generous and understanding. It was not something they would take lightly and told her they would make the decision that was both best for the kids and the team before themselves. Now was not the time to be selfish on any front.

“Right,” Ash agrees. She goes to speak again when a whisper from the doorway pulls her attention away.

“Ashy can we go pway now?” asks the little boy with hopeful eyes.

Ali lets out a quiet giggle at his words. “Ashy?” she asks with a raised eyebrow.

She simply rolls her eyes and shoots Ali a playful glare. “He came up with it,” she replies and sticks her tongue out at the defender. “And what else is he gonna call me, mom?” she asks with a laugh, but her smile drops when she doesn’t see Ali join in.

There’s suddenly a heavy weight over them, the weight of a conversation they’ve only touched on briefly, a weight that both want desperately to shrug off but are too afraid. The conversation is tabled for later though when an impatient three year old begins calling her a bit louder while tugging on the bed skirt.

“Ashy, let’s go!”

Ali gives her a nod telling her to go, but Ash catches the glint in her eye that tells her they’ll be having quite a profound conversation later.

“Alright let’s go play little man,” she whispers and slides baby Ali into her girlfriend’s waiting arms before carefully slipping off the bed and grabbing Ben’s outstretched hand to lead him to the backyard where he can be as loud as he likes.

After a few minutes of cuddling her little girl, Ali decides to get up. She slips off the bed with Ali in her arms and trudges into the living room where she plucks the jumper off the floor and carries it outside to the back porch. When she slides open the door a smile crosses her face as she watches Ashlyn and Ben kicking the soccer ball back a forth.

She realizes it’s more Ashlyn kicking the ball towards him and him just wildly swinging his leg at it, but it still makes her happy to see them bonding so quickly. She had never doubted it –Ashlyn always seemed so natural with kids- but seeing her goofing off in the backyard and trying to teach him how to kick as they both giggled ecstatically it is exactly what she had dreamed about in the past when she had let her mind wander into the future. Although her thoughts didn’t quite encompass the scenario they found themselves in, it definitely warmed her to see Ashlyn treating Ben and baby Ali as she would her own children.

A light buzz pulls Ali from her dream state and she looks to the table realizing that a phone is vibrating.

“Ash, you got a text!” she calls out as she looks down and sees that it’s not her phone buzzing.

“Who is it? You can check it,” she calls out over her shoulder absently as she gets ready to trap Ben’s attempted pass with her left foot.

Ali carefully slips baby Ali into her jumper and then once she has her settled in reaches across the glass table to pull the keeper’s phone over to her. “It’s your brother,” she states as she goes to click on the message to read it out to her.

Ash’s head snaps up at the mention of Chris and she quickly bounds to the porch to grab the phone before too much damage is done. She places her hand on Ali’s covering the screen when she gets there a second later, but the glassy, hurt look in Ali’s eyes as the brunette looks up at her for answers lets her know that she got there one second too late.


	15. In Trouble

Ali lets the phone slip from her fingers as Ashlyn gently pulls it away. She stares up at the blonde with a hurt expression as the words flash before her eyes in a cyclical pattern.

“Ali, it’s not what you think…” she begins softly, her voice trailing off as she tries to gather her thoughts.

The brunette takes a deep breath and sets her jaw trying to keep herself from overreacting. She can’t believe that the Ashlyn that sent those texts to her brother a few hours ago is the same one who was just cuddled so cutely in bed with Ben and little Ali, the same one who –even though she was completely exhausted from training and lack of sleep- was just running around the back yard playing with Ben like she would her own child. She was a firm believer that actions spoke louder than words, but the words she had just seen on her girlfriend’s phone were making it hard for anything else to come through clearly.

“Then what is it, Ash?” she asks cautiously, knowing they’re walking a thin line.

Ashlyn studies Ali for a moment, trying to decide what to tell her. She knows they said they’d be honest with their feelings, but she’s trying to find the right way to say it.

The silence from the keeper is too much for Ali to take at the moment. She slides the chair back from the table, careful not to bump the sleeping baby in the jumper beside her and stands up. “I’m going for a run,” she offers evenly as she makes her way to the backdoor and yanks it open.

“Alex…” Ash begins and freezes when she actually turns to look at her expectantly.

“I need to clear my head and blow off some steam, Ash. I will be back in a little and we can talk, okay? I just need a few minutes,” she supplies with surprising composure. She isn’t sure if it’s the lack of energy or the fact that Ben and the baby are in earshot, but she somehow has managed to harness her usually fiery personality. “Are you okay with them for a short while?” she asks as she nods to the kids by her.

“Yes,” Ashlyn replies evenly with a nod of assurance. She wants to tell Ali it’s not a good idea to push her body right now, but knows it’s best if she lets the defender burn off a bit of steam, trusting that the woman coming back from a concussion will know when enough is enough.

Without another word Ali slips into the house and pulls the door shut behind her. She slips her shoes on and is out the front door in less than a minute. As she begins jogging she pulls her pony tail up into a messy bun and keeps trudging along. Her legs are already burning from the ruthless workout Chris had put her through just a few hours ago and twenty minutes into the run, her lungs are beginning to feel it too as they scream for air.

Coming to a dead end sign, she finally slows up and sinks onto the rusted barrier that sits between the end of the road and the small creek that lies at the end of a slight grassy embankment. She tries to slow her beating heart with deep breaths while she processes everything she saw, the words of uncertainty and doubt that she had read between Ashlyn and her brother.

Inside her mind is reeling when she remembers back to the hospital and how confident Ashlyn had seemed in her commitment. The keeper’s words of not needing time, of there not being anything to think about rings through her ears and she thinks maybe she should have pushed her to take some more time to think about it all. But she had said all the right things and smiled at the right time and as usual, Ali was helpless against her charm and confidence.

As quickly as the doubts creep in, so does the displays of affirmation. She thinks to all the little things Ashlyn has done over the last few days to show her she is committed, to both her and the kids. She’s the first to scoot over and make room for Ben when he comes into their bedroom in the middle of the night, the first to start making little Ali a bottle when she starts to get fussy, the first to volunteer to read Ben a bedtime story or take him to play when he gets hyper and the first to tell Ali how amazing she is every morning when she wakes up in her arms.

Her mind is reeling as she thinks through it all and comes to the realization that the only one who can answer the questions burning through her mind is Ashlyn. With a final deep breath she pushes up from the metal barrier and begins to make her way home. She’s tired, exhausted actually, but her curiosity keeps her feet pounding into the pavement in a furious pace, each step bringing her closer to Ashlyn and the answers she desperately seeks.

When she reaches the house she slows down her pace, knowing Ash will worry about her extra energy exertion when she’s still coming back from her concussion. She quietly slips into the front door and is pleasantly surprised when she sees her three loves lying on the couch watching the Lego Movie. Ashlyn shifts her attention from the TV to meet Ali’s eyes and in them she can easily read the apology. Her fears are quelled a bit, but she knows they still need to talk.

After slipping off her shoes and tossing them into the front closet, she walks behind the couch to the kitchen. The dishes in the dishwasher are already clean so she pulls it open and grabs a glass, then fills it from the pitcher in the fridge. After a few audible gulps she notices that Ashlyn has slipped out from underneath Ben and is making her way over with little Ali in her arms.

“Hi,” she says shyly as she holds the baby up so Ali can plant a kiss on her cheek.

“Hey,” Ali replies with a tempered smile. “Sorry I left. I just needed a few minutes.”

Ash shrugs, careful not to jostle the baby. “It’s okay. I don’t blame you,” she supplies with a rueful grin.

They fall into a silence that although isn’t uncomfortable, it isn’t doing anything to ease the tension.

“Sooo…” Ali begins and then waits for Ash to pick up with the conversation.

“It’s not what you think, Alex.”

Ali checks the sarcastic comment that she quickly formulates, instead settling on, “Tell me how ‘I love her Chris, but this is insane. I can’t do this’ could mean anything other than what I think it means, Ashlyn.”

Ash looks deep into her big brown eyes before beginning. “Alex, we said we’d be one hundred percent honest back at the hospital and I want you to know that I meant that. I won’t lie, okay? I had a bit of a meltdown when you left me alone with them today to go to your workout. Ben had a tantrum and said he hated me and then his yelling woke Ali up and she wouldn’t stop crying for what felt like hours and I just…I realized that I’m no good at this. It scared me and I freaked out. I texted Chris and I know those texts looked bad, like very bad,” she adds trying to assure Ali that she understands exactly why she’s upset and that it’s justified, “but what you didn’t get to see was the phone call we had after that. I just…I was scared that I was no good and was going to let you and the kids down, that I wouldn’t be good enough for you three. Chris called me and he talked me through it and it really helped. I’m sorry,” she breathed out and then waited anxiously for her girlfriend to respond as she rocked baby Ali in her arms.

Ali took in everything she was saying for a moment. “Why didn’t you just tell me?” she asked with a confused tone. “You said be honest, but why did you wait until after I had read those texts to come clean on how you were feeling?”

Ashlyn sighed before hopping up a bit onto the large kitchen island. “I didn’t want you to think I was overwhelmed or that I couldn’t handle it,” she admits shyly. “I didn’t want you to regret thinking you could rely on me.”

“Oh, Ashlyn,” Ali says with glossy eyes as she takes a few steps towards her and rests her palms on her knees which are hanging over the edge of the island. “Ash, you’ve done more than I could ever expect from you in this situation. Neither of us are going to be perfect at this, not in eighteen years and especially not in three days. It’s going to be hard, Ash, but I just need you to know that you can talk to me about this, about whatever you’re feeling.”

Ashlyn lets out a sigh of relief as she sees Ali’s anger melt away after her confession. “I know, I know. I’m sorry, baby,” she says softly and then plants a kiss on her forehead. “I just had a panic attack,” she chuckled.

“And I’m sure you’ll have lots more,” Ali joins in with a commiserating grin. “But we’re in it together, right?”

“Right,” Ashlyn replies confidently. As she glances over her shoulder to make sure Ben is still watching the movie, her mind flicks to something else when she sees the mess on the living room table. “Since we’re being honest and all…” she trails off with a shifty grin.

“What happened?” Ali demands with a pointed look that Ashlyn knows is just for show.

With a laugh she quickly sets Ali’s mind at ease. “Looks like I’ll be painting Ben’s room after all.” She pauses, but Ali just looks at her expectantly so she adds, “Ben may have drawn all over his wall with a marker when he was having a meltdown and I was trying to comfort baby Ali.” She quickly gets the words out with a sheepish grin as Ali just shakes her head.

“We’re in trouble, aren’t we?” Ali asks with a laugh.

Ash nods and gently slides off the counter. “I think so my dear.”

Just then Ben wanders into the room, with his favorite blanket draped over his shoulder. “I hungry,” he states simply and looks up to both women with his big, blue eyes.

Ali shoots a look to Ash who just shrugs. “Well I don’t feel like cooking tonight so how about we just order pizza? I’m sure one cheat day won’t kill us,” she adds with a goofy grin.

“Are you kidding me?” Ash asks incredulously, thinking back to the exact reason why Ben’s tirade earlier began.

“What?” she asked innocuously.

“Nothing. Nothing at all,” Ash chuckles. “Pizza sounds delicious.” She drops to her knees in front of Ben. “How does pizza sound little man?” she asks with a wide, knowing grin.


	16. Work Cut Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The little family is heading to camp. Let me know what you think so far!

“Ash,” Ali whispers to the blonde whose eyes are shut tightly. When she doesn’t get a reaction she pokes her and hisses again, “Ashlyn, wake up!”

This time the blonde jerks forward in her seat and looks around a bit dazed until her senses came to. “What’s wrong?” she asks with a voice of concern.

If Ali didn’t have to pee so bad, she would have laughed at the blonde’s disheveled appearance. “I need you to take little Ali and keep an eye on Ben so I can use the restroom,” she says with a small, impatient smile.

“Oh,” Ash says before tucking some of her untamed hairs behind her ear. She reaches out and plucks the baby from Ali’s arms and then turns her legs so that Ali can scoot by her. With a yawn, she shifts her attention from Ali’s finely toned ass as it passes by to Ben. “What are you watching Benny?”

He holds one finger up to shush her and Ashlyn can barely hold back the laughter at his sassiness, wondering if Ali was already starting to rub off on him. After a minute, when the scene changes, he turns and simply says, “Lion King.”

Ash smiles fondly thinking how that used to be one of her favorites. “Oh, I love that one!” she says excitedly, but not loud enough to wake the sleeping baby which was their mission for the remainder of the plane ride. 

They were four hours into the five hour flight to Los Angeles and had been lucky that baby Ali had fallen asleep about a half hour in. Although she cried a bit during the takeoff, Ali had been able to calm her down shortly after.

“Wanna watch?” Ben replies in a sweet voice and plucks an ear bud out of his ear, extending it out to her.

_Yep Ali is rubbing off on him. Momentary bouts of sassiness and displays of selflessness_. “Sure!” she says in a giddy voice and slips the headphone into her ear before lifting up the armrest separating her and Ben so that he can cuddle into her, also giving her a better view. After a few moments she is already so engrossed in the movie that she hasn’t seen in years, that she doesn’t even realize Ali is back until she feels someone kicking her leg.

She looks up at Ali who is just staring at her adoringly. “Sorry,” she whispers and quickly stands so Ali can slip by her again. She slides into the window seat and looks back at Ashlyn and Ben who are captivated by the movie and seem think nothing else exists. “I see how it is. I’m already getting ditched,” she playfully teases.

“We’ll get one of those headphone splitter things when we get to L.A. babe,” Ash mindlessly states as she keeps her eyes fixed on the screen just as one of her favorite scenes comes on.

Ali shakes her head and laughs, deciding to try to get in a quick nap while the opportunity presents itself. To say they’re lacking on sleep is an understatement.   
Unfortunately, little Ali is not a very good sleeper and it seems as if every couple hours one of them has to pry themselves from bed to check on her. It’s been draining, but aside from that, Ali thinks they’ve been handling the whole situation fairly well. She did call Jill to request that their room is at the other end of the hotel from the team so her cries don’t keep anyone else awake at night. Though she appreciated the heads up, she wasn’t particularly happy to hear that her star right back and #2 keeper weren’t getting any sleep.

With one final glance to Ash and the kids to make sure they would be okay, she balled up Ashlyn’s U.S. Soccer crewneck sweater and placed it between her head and the window and even with the loud drone of the plane, was asleep in less than five minutes.

 

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN WE ARE NOW DESCENDING INTO LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. PLEASE RAISE YOUR TRAY TABLES AND RETURN YOUR SEATS TO THEIR UPRIGHT POSITION.”

Ash hears the pilot's orders come through the loud speaker just as the credits begin to roll on the movie. Ben looks up at her with a smile as she carefully folds the MacBook and places it in her black Nike backpack which Ben holds open for her. “Thanks bud,” she says and kisses the top of his head before reaching across him and nudging Ali who is surprisingly sound asleep.

“We’re landing babe,” Ash says as Ali begins to come to. “Can you take the little princess and I’ll get Ben buckled up?”

Ali sleepily nods, suddenly missing the transatlantic flights she used to take that would have afforded her much more time to nap. As soon as Ash hands the baby off she begins rocking her in her arms, trying to keep her calm as the plane begins to bounce a bit in the turbulence and Ash pushes her bag under the seat in front of her with her foot as she bends over Ben and gets his seatbelt secured.

A few hundred feet off the ground the plane begins swaying a bit more and with wide eyes Ben instinctively reaches out and grabs Ash’s hand for comfort. It makes Ash grin widely as she squeezes it back reassuringly and then catches Ali’s eyes. She can see something, maybe admiration or endearment in them, and it once again reaffirms her decision.

Twenty minutes later, they’re making their way up to the baggage claim carousel. With her backpack, Ali’s purse and the diaper bag, Ash feels like quite the pack horse as she leads Ben by the hand, following after her girls who are a few steps ahead.

For just a moment she lets herself miss the days of her and Ali traveling together, just the two of them as she sees all of their bags begin to come around the belt. She groans and slips all the carryon bags off of her shoulders as she steps up to the belt, grabbing suitcase after suitcase that came around. “Think we brought enough?” she grunts over her shoulder as she slides the last bag, Ali’s U.S. Soccer duffle bag onto the floor next to the other four suitcases.

Ali just laughs at the ridiculous pile and shakes her head. “Who knew we’d need so much stuff?”

“I’m just glad I called Christie to go over the list of _necessities_. You had twice this much packed, Alex!” she chuckles.

“Whatever,” Ali replies sassily as her eyes scan the distance and suddenly light up. “KYLE!” she yells and begins waving with her free arm.

Kyle jogs over with a huge grin on his face. 

“Well I’ll be damned. Who woulda thought you and Harris would be all domestic like this already?” he asks rhetorically with a laugh as he looks at the little family.

“Oh shut it, Kyle,” Ali responds with an eye roll. “You remember Ben right?” she asks Kyle.

“Of course I do,” he says before squatting down in front of the boy. “Hey little man. I'm Kyle. How are you doing?”

Ben shrinks back a bit shyly, not remembering Kyle from the two times he’s seen him at family holiday parties. He turns and buries his head into Ashlyn’s legs, gripping her black Nike sweats tightly.

“Seems like you have a new buddy,” he says to Ash and then pulls her into a tight hug. He turns back to Ali and looks at the baby girl in her arms. “And I’m guessing this is the little princess Ash can’t stop gushing about?” he asks with a warm smile.

“Yes, this is our little Ali,” she replies as she lifts her a bit higher so Kyle can take her from her arms.

“She’s beautiful,” Kyle says in amazement as he looks down on the tiny baby girl in his arms. “Does she already have Ashlyn whipped?” he asks without lifting his eyes.

“Ohhh yeah,” Ali chuckles which causes Ashlyn to groan.

“Two Ali’s man. I have two to deal with now!” she playfully complains.

Kyle shakes his head and offers her a sympathetic look. “I can’t wait until she gets old enough for you to yell at her, Ash. Alex is going to be so confused and always thinking you’re mad at her.”

The statement gets a laugh from all the adults and Ash decides to take it a step further. “Ali, you can’t have any cookies! Ali, we only go pee on the potty!”

“Ali, we do not eat things off the floor!” Kyle adds as he and Ashlyn nearly double over in laughter at their own jokes, easily building off of each other’s excitement.

“Will you two cut it out?” Ali asks with a playfully annoyed tone as she shakes her head at their antics, especially when Ben joins in on the laughter, clearly not understanding what they’re talking about and adds, “No, baby Ali!”

Kyle throws his head back and takes a deep breath trying to calm his giggles. “Aw man you two have got your work cut out,” he says contemplatively. “You’re going to have to get that little girl a nickname because I think she’ll actually be the confused one with she hears Ashlyn yelling that she can’t buy anymore purses or that she shouldn’t wear heels the day before a game. What’s her middle name?”

“Brianne,” Ali says a bit solemnly, the mood suddenly shifting. “It was Jill’s middle name.”

Kyle looks down at the no longer sleeping baby in his arms and places a kiss on her forehead. “Well little girl, I think your Uncle Kyle is going to call you Bri. If that’s okay with you two?” he asks and looks up to them.

“I like it,” Ali says with a genuine smile to which Ashlyn nods her own confirmation.

Out of the corner of her eye Ash catches the time on a large clock hanging from the wall opposite them. “Oh shoot. We need to get going,” she says and lifts her wrist to confirm the time on her own golden, diamond studded watch.

“Yeah we have a team meeting in a couple hours and I want to get the kids settled first.”

Kyle hands the baby off to Ali and then starts gathering the suitcases with Ashlyn. “I still can’t believe Jill let you guys come into camp late,” he said with a disbelieving look as he tucked Ali purse under his arm.

“She needs Ali,” Ash states simply. “And apparently we’re a packaged deal now,” she adds with a grin.

“Guess so,” Kyle says with a smile. “Can’t wait to see you all back at it on Sunday!” he exclaims excitedly as he leads them to his Jeep. “Now tell me how everything’s been going. Big brother needs the details!”


	17. Good To Be Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are enjoying! Now starts the fun stuff.. Being at camp with the team!

Ash and Ali barely make it through the front doors of the hotel before they are bombarded.

“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” squeals Pinoe as she sprints over to the little family and immediately wraps the two women up in a tight hug. “I missed you two!” she exclaims with a wide beaming smile and then takes a step back to look at Ben who is currently clutching Ashlyn’s pant leg which he is hiding behind.

With a laugh Ash takes a step to the side and grabs Ben’s hand reassuringly. “Ben, this is one of our bestest friends, Pinoe,” she says with a smile.

“Hi,” he whispers shyly and then tucks his head back into Ash’s leg.

“Oh my god he is adorable!” shrieks Syd from the open elevator across the lobby as her, HAO, Whit and Tobin step out.

Ash can sense that the little boy is about to get overwhelmed by the ever growing number of women streaming through the lobby on the way to the team meeting that starts soon. She picks Ben up and holds him close to her side to comfort him, silently wishing they would have been able to get to their room undetected so they could have gotten settled first.

She shoots a glaring look to the women to let them know to settle down a bit, and Whit, knowing her best friends facial expressions quite well, sticks out an arm to slow her other teammates down.

Ali sees the interaction and smiles at the fact that Ash is so protective of them. She had known Ash to be that way with her as well, but it somehow made her heart swell when she saw her protective motherly instincts taking over.

“So these are the two new U.S. Soccer babies?” Syd asks as she peeks into the carrier that Ali is holding close to her side.

“Yes they are,” Ash says proudly as she looks at some of her closest friends interacting cautiously with them. “Ben, these are some of our teammates.” She points to each one and names them off even though he’ll never remember them. “Can you say hi?” she asks as she jostles him a bit in her arms to get him to lift his head.

He quietly mumbles hi with a little wave and when she feels Ali’s hand on her back she knows it’s time to head to their room.

“We’ve got to get settled quick before the meeting,” Ali says.

“Okay well I better get some playtime later!” Whit replies with a warm smile.

Ali laughs and shakes her head. “Don’t worry, you will. He’s shy because he’s tired right now, but after a nap he’ll be bouncing off the walls!”

“Good,” Tobin says with an evil grin. “We’ll let you four get going. See you at the meeting!”

They say goodbye quickly and then head to the front desk where Kyle has already gotten their keys. He turns with a wide smile and shakes his head.

“What?” Ali asks at his weird facial expression.

Kyle just laughs. “They seemed a bit confused when I asked for your room. Apparently I don’t look like I should be on the U.S. Women’s National Team.”

“Smooth,” Ash replies with a chuckle of her own as she grabs the room keys from him with her free hand. “Let’s get these kiddos settled,” she adds and leads the way to the elevator.

Once inside the suite, Kyle starts setting up the travel crib for the baby while Ash organizes their suitcases and Ali tucks Ben in for a nap on one of the queen beds.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay with them alone for a little?” Ali asks Kyle a bit apprehensively when she glances at the clock and knows they need to get going.

Kyle gives her a knowing look. “I’ll be fine, Alex. I think Ben’s already asleep anyways,” he adds with a laugh as he casts his eyes to the bed. “Besides, it can’t be any worse than Ash’s first time alone with them, right?”

“Ha. Ha. Ha.” Ash replies with a glare as Ali and Kyle share a quiet laugh. “Just for that I hope you have to change a poopy diaper while we're gone,” she teases.

“Funny, Harris. I’ll leave those for you,” he retorts and sticks his tongue out.

Ali puts her hands up between the two playfully fighting adults, “Enough you two,” she mildly chastises. “Ash, we should get going,” she adds with a nod to the door.

“Yeah get out of here you two!” Kyle calls out as the two women make their way to the door. “Uncle Kyle has got it covered.”

Ash laughs at the comment as they walk down the hall, but her smile falls a bit when she catches Ali’s eyes.

“What?” she asks.

Ali looks around the hallway to make sure no one was around and takes a step towards Ash, pinning her against the wall with both hands planted on either side of her head.“You think Whit would take them for a bit tonight?” she asks innocently as she traces her finger lightly along the collar of Ash’s deep v-neck shirt.

Ash smirks and lets her arms wrap tightly around Ali’s waist to pull her closer. “Possibly," she replies with a shrug as she leans in closer. "Why? What did you have in mind?” she asks, her lips a hair away from Ali’s

“Something along these lines,” Ali says as she slides her hand down Ashlyn’s chest and slips it under her waistband to rub her over her shorts.

Ashlyn presses their lips together, but after falling into the kiss for a brief moment Ali playfully pushes her back with her other hand and slips out of her waistband. “Later, stud,” she says with a cocky grin as she turns and makes her way to the elevator, adding over her shoulder, “if you’re lucky!”

She stands there for a moment, taking in the sight of Ali walking away, her hips swaying side to side for show. They hadn’t been intimate for almost two weeks since they got the kids and seeing Ali in mom mode especially made Ash want her even more. They had tried a few times, but were either quickly thwarted by a crying baby or the thought that Ben would walk in to sleep with them like he often did. Ash took a few breaths to try to calm her libido, but when she saw Ali step into the empty elevator, another plan came to mind.

With a few quick bounds, Ash quickly catches up with her, slipping into the elevator right behind. As soon as the doors close she has Ali’s back pressed firmly to the wall under her body weight and is attacking her neck with hot kisses. Ali’s hands instinctively go to Ash’s hair to pull her closer and she lets out a soft moan in her ear when she feels the keeper’s leg push into her center.

Unfortunately, they only had two floors to go and it’s over before it even really gets started. It takes all the willpower Ali possesses, but she pushes Ash away with a hand to her chest when the elevator dings upon reaching the lobby. They stand there for a moment, staring at each other as the doors slowly open and Ash wipes her mouth with the back of her hand while she looks at Ali’s heaving chest and dark eyes.

“I'll talk to Whit. You’re mine later,” she says with a cocky, dimpled grin as she turns and exits the elevator.

Ali follows quickly behind with soaking underwear and very dirty thoughts running   
through her mind.

 

“Well look who it is!” says a surprisingly cheery Hope Solo as Ash and Ali make their entrance to the meeting room. She pulls them into a hug, Ash’s noticeably tighter than the one she gave Ali. It’s no surprise as the keepers have a special bond and Hope has taken Ash under her wing, grooming her and pushing her to excel as her replacement.

Everyone has already arrived to claim their seats and they can immediately feel all eyes on them when they step into the room. They make their way to two empty seats in the middle row, giving and receiving hugs and high fives on the way.

“Welcome ladies,” Jill says from the front of the room as they plop down in their chairs. “I, and I’m sure everyone else here, is very happy that you two were able to join us. I’m also sure we all can’t wait to meet the two little ones who accompanied you.” She smiles knowingly and nods from the front of the room as Ash and Ali simply return her smile.

“Yeah, where are the munchkins?" yells Kelley from the other side of the room.

“They’re napping so they can annoy all of you all dinner,” Ali says with a wide grin which causes everyone to laugh.

Jill shakes her head and then clicks the PowerPoint on. “Very well then. Let’s get started, shall we?”

The room falls silent immediately and Jill begins her presentation on how they are going to approach the game versus Ireland that weekend. From tactics to strategy and even down to player specific strengths, Jill will spare them no detail. Everyone settles into their seats with notepad in hand ready to endure a long meeting.

A few minutes into the meeting Ash gives Ali’s hand a quick squeeze before pulling it back. “It’s good to be back,” she whispers. "I'm glad we're here...together."

Ali nods and smiles. _It is good to be back_. She just hopes it’s not going to be as awful as she thinks it will be.


	18. She Said What?

“Krieger! Harris! Can I see both of you for a few minutes?”

Ash turns around and sees Jill looking at both of them across the room. “Of course,” she replies and nudges Ali to come with her as the rest of their teammates file out of the room to get ready for dinner.

Jill sits back on the table in the front of the room, her legs dangling off slightly and both women get nervous at the serious look on her face. “How are you two doing?” she says with a poignant look, before adding, “Honestly?”

Ash looks to Ali, signaling for her to go first with an extended hand.

With a sigh Ali begins. “Honestly I think I speak for both of us when I say we’re in the right mindset. We’ve kind of come to terms with everything and although it’s hard, we’re in the correct frame of mind to be here. Physically, we’ve both been doing our workouts with Chris and I know at least I am feeling really good. Ash?”

“Same,” she replies as she meets Jill’s gaze. “Chris has been pushing me hard and I’ve had sessions everyday with the Spirit goalkeeper coach so I’m feeling fit. Just ready to get back out there and help this team win a World Cup.”

Jill smiles though it is a bit apprehensive. “And your head, Kriegs? I’ve heard updates, but want to hear it from you.”

Ali just shrugs. “I’m good. Feeling fit. I was on schedule to be full contact coming into camp and I still feel the same way. I’m ready for this,” she states evenly and with authority.

“Very well,” Jill nods, happy with both women’s confident answers. “Now I know you mentioned wanting to come out with a story on this before the media catches up. Is that still true?”

Ash looks to Ali who simply nods and waits for their coach to continue.

“Did you have an idea on how you wanted to do that?” she asks, turning her attention more so to Ali now.

“We were thinking of a fox soccer reporter whose done some pieces on us separately in the past. Her name is Laura and we said we were interested in an interview. Are we okay to go ahead and do that? You know we don’t want to take away from the team in any aspect, but they’re going to find out sooner or later and we'd rather control the narrative.”

Jill sits back a bit and folds her hands in her lap. “I agree. I know you two have been extremely professional about this over the last five years so as to keep the focus on the team and you as players and I appreciate that. But I know things have changed now and you two should have the right to get the story out…your way and from your mouths.”

Both players are smiling, glad that their coach is on board. U.S. Soccer had never forbade them from taking their relationship public, it had always been a private decision between the couple, but knowing they were supported did wonders to ease both their worries.

“That means a lot to us. Thank you,” Ali says with a small smile.

Jill returns their smile and then continues on. “No thanks are needed. Now I know you were thinking of doing an interview with Laura, but there is one other option if you’re interested?”

“What’s that?” Ash asks as she lifts her eyes from the ground with a curious look.

“As you know the game this Sunday is on Mother’s Day. Fox Soccer is doing a special on the mother’s on the team…” Her voice trails off as she stares right at Ali and waits for her to catch on what she’s insinuating.

“You want me to do a segment like Rampone, Boxxy and Arod?” she asks knowing that the other women had already done a piece, touched by the idea.

Jill can immediately tell how much it means to Ali that she suggested it, but also notices Ash slump her shoulders a bit like she’s not included. “Both of you, actually…if you’d like,” Jill corrects herself quickly.

“Really?” Ash says, her face lighting up as she catches Ali’s smile grow even larger. 

They had agreed not to add Ashlyn to the adoption papers with Ali until after they got married and only filed for her to be listed as a legal guardian of both Ben and little Ali for the time being. It was a long, exhaustive conversation, but Ash had insisted that she wanted to be married first before she took that next step of legally adopting them. Truth be told she had still been terrified she wouldn't be cut out for it and Ali wouldn't want her to stay. By making her a legal guardian she would at least have the authority to make medical and other important decisions for them until the time came.

“If you’d like. It can be simultaneous with your interview release. We just wanted to give you two the opportunity to be recognized just as all the other mother’s on the team will be. I think what you two did are are doing is extremely selfless and you both deserve to be recognized for it,” she says with genuine sincerity.

“Obviously we’d have to discuss it, but I think it’s a great,” Ali says as she shifts on her feet a bit. She isn’t quite sure about the whole thing, as touching as the offer is.

Ash quickly interjects and sets her girlfriend straight, “I think it’s a great idea. What’s there to think about?”

Ali can tell Ash looks a bit hurt and her reservations immediately go out the window. The keeper has been by her side from day one and it would mean the world to her. “I guess nothing,” she replies with a laugh. “We’re in,” she turns to Jill with a smile.

“Great! I’ll pass it along and someone will be in touch with you to set up a filming time and place. That’s all I’ve got for now. If either of you need anything, don’t hesitate to let me or any of the staff know. See you a at dinner,” she finishes with a cheery smile as she shoos the couple out of the room.

 

_______

 

“She said what?!”

“Yeah,” Ash replies with a smile as she watches her best friend hold little Ali next to her.

“And Ali is okay with it all?” Whit replies a bit apprehensively. She knows how private of a person Ali is and this seems like a big jump for them to make.

Ash just shrugs and turns her attention back to the side of the room where several of her teammates are playing with Ben, her girlfriend included. “I guess we don’t have much of a choice,” she replies with a chuckle. “The media would be on us in a second, especially when they see me lugging diaper bags and carrying small children around too,” she adds.

Whit lets out a small laugh of her own. “Who woulda thought you, the Ashlyn Harris would be here?” she asks contemplatively as she remembers back to how her best friend used to be, especially in college.

“I know right?” Ash breathes out and shakes her head as she remembers some of her finer and not so fine moments in the past that only Whit was privy to. “I wouldn’t trade it for the world though,” she adds firmly.

Whit places a hand on Ashlyn’s knee. “You’re the best person I know, Ash. You know that right?”

Ash smiles at her friend's sincerity as Ali’s laugh ripples through the room, reminding her of a promise she needs to fulfill. “You think you can do a small favor for the best person you know?” she asks with a wide grin that she knows Whit can’t resist.

Whit immediately starts laughing, knowing exactly where her best friend's mind is at. “How long has it been?” she get outs through her laughter.

“Too fucking long!” Ash whines and playfully pouts, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Aww, who would have thought two kids would kill your sex life?" she asks incredulously with a teasing glint in her eyes. "Poor Ash isn't getting laid,” Whit adds quietly, making sure someone doesn’t overhear them.

Ash playfully pushes her shoulder. “Watch it, Engen!” she says, shaking her own head because she knows it’s true. To say she's been horny is an understatement. If she doesn't have some release soon she thinks she's going to lose it, especially once she has to start watching Ali train in front of her every day looking so sexy.

“So I’m guessing you want me to watch the little monsters for a while so you can get some tonight?” she asks with a raised eyebrow and knowing smile.

Ash just nods her head emphatically and holds her hands out in front of her, playfully begging. “Please please pleaseeee,” she whines, but it’s all for show. She knows Whit –ever the wing woman- will help her out.

“Fine,” Whit sighs out, pretending that she really had to think about it.

Ash quickly fist pumps and gives Whit a kiss on the cheek. “You are the best! I’ve got to go tell Ali,” she says in a giddy voice.

“Tell Ali what?” comes a voice from behind them that causes both of their heads to whip around.

Whit smirks and looks to Ali, “Oh just that Ash said she’d do my laundry for the week if I watch the kids tonight so you can both get laid.”

Both Ali and Ash’s eyes go wide at the statement and a slight blush begins to creep up the brunette's neck.

“Ashlyn!” Ali hisses as she glares at her girlfriend who sheepishly shrugs and decides it's best to keep her mouth shut.

Whit starts laughing at the exchange, secretly glad Ash didn’t challenge her on the laundry part she added. “Your secret's safe with me,” she playfully salutes and then gets up to hand off little Ali to HAO who’s frantically waving her over from across the room.

“Ashlyn Michelle, what did you tell Whit?” Ali growls.

Ash just groans. “She knew! I asked for a favor and she guessed correctly,” she offers with a shrug. “Don’t be mad. You should be happy,” she says with a smirk.

“And why is that?” Ali replies with a seductive grin as she glances around and sees they’re alone in the corner of the room.

“Because I’m going to do such naughty things to you as soon as we step foot in that room. You’re not even going to make it to the bed before I have you naked,” she whispers as her eyes darken a bit.

Ali leans in and pretends she’s pulling a hair off of Ashlyn’s shirt as she whispers in her ear. “Well good thing I asked Jill to put us on the other end of the hotel because of little Ali crying.”

Ash pulls back a bit and meets Ali’s dark gaze with a confused one of her own.

“This way no one will hear me screaming your name while I cum,” she replies with a wide, teasing grin and pats Ashlyn’s shoulder gently before turning to make her way back to the group of women in the middle of the room.


	19. Go 'Get Organized'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some smut in this one.. The ladies gotta make up for lost time ;)

“Help me, Pinoe! Toby, NO!” cries Ben as looks pleadingly back at his partner in crime Pinoe while jumping in the air trying to grab the ball Tobin was holding over his head.

The rest of the girls started laughing at his new nickname for her, Ashlyn and Kelley the loudest.

Tobin tosses the ball in the air to her and the keeper quickly catches it, only to swarmed by an overly excited little boy. “Ashy, come on!” he whines, hopping as high as he can and reaching his tiny arms up.

“Ashy?” Syd reiterates as she doubles over in laughter. “Oh my god that it too great,” she adds and casts a wide grin to Ali who is laughing as well.

“He came up with it all on his own,” Ali supplies with a shrug as she watches Ashlyn’s cheeks get red while she drops her hand and Ben grabs the ball from it.

Whit comes up from behind them a minute later with HAO holding little Ali in her arms. She glances to Ben who is running around with Ryan and the Rampone girls chasing the ball around. “Oh I see. Get him all riled up before Auntie Whit takes over?” she says as she shakes her head.

“Yup,” Ash replies, popping the p sound with a grin. “Gotta make it worth doing your laundry for a week,” she says with a wink.

“Oh I promise it’ll be worth it,” Ali stands on her tip toes and whispers in her ear and smirks when she sees Ash’s eyes go wide.

She looks to Whit who simply shakes her head, knowing exactly what Ali said to her. “Go,” she said with a nod towards the door.

Ash smiles brightly at her before offering an excuse to the others with absolutely no care as to how lame it sounds. “So um…Ali and I are going to go get the room set up for the kids and stuff. It’s…going to be a long month and we want to get organized, ya know?”

All the women in the room turn to look at them with incredulous faces, trying to stifle their laughs and hold in the sarcastic comments as they look at the normally confident keeper who is turning redder by the second under their gaze.

“Rightttt,” Kelley says with a wide grin. “Well you two go… ‘get organized’,” she adds with an exaggerated wink and air quotes which causes Ali to start to turn red as well.

Ash steps forward and places a kiss on little Ali’s head before shooting Kelley a glare. “Can it O’Hara before I sick Solo on you,” she challenges which causes Kelley to immediately freeze up and hold in her laugh.

Ali hugs Ben tight and tells him to be good for the girls before thanking Whit for watching them. “Let’s go, Ash. Those suitcases aren’t going to unpack themselves,” she states while tugging on Ashlyn’s hand amidst the giggles, still keeping up the façade they know no one believes.

They make it back to the room quickly and as promised, Ash begins ripping off Ali's clothes the second the door closes behind them. Although she would have liked to take her time and really romance her, the way Ali was staring hungrily at her in the elevator and the way her hands were wandering below the belt as she tried to unlock the door made that notion fly out the window immediately.

Ali let's out a moan as she finds her back pinned up against the wall and feels Ashlyn's warm lips sucking on her now exposed neck after her shirt had been stripped off and tossed across the room. “Fuck I missed this,” she whispers sexily in the keeper’s ear as Ash unhooks her bra and slides it off her shoulders, kissing down her chest. “I missed you touching me baby,” she gets out before Ashlyn captures her lips in a fiery, passionate kiss as she begins massaging her breasts with the hand that isn’t resting on her hip to keep her pushed up against the wall.

“Yeah?” Ashlyn husks out as she drops her hand to the button of Ali’s jeans and pops it open before quickly tugging the zipper down. “What else do you miss?” she asks, feeling herself getting extremely worked up as Ali shimmies out of her pants, taking her underwear with her as she goes so as not to waste anymore time. 

“This,” Ali says hotly as she takes Ashlyn’s hand and guides it to where she needs her the most. It’s been almost two weeks and her body is screaming for Ashlyn’s touch.

“Fuck, Alex,” Ash moans as she feels her fingers easily slide through her girlfriend's soaking folds. 

Ali roughly pushes Ashlyn back towards the bed and smiles when the blonde’s eyes goes wide as she falls over backwards on it. “Told you I missed you touching me,” she reasons as Ash licks her fingers clean of Ali’s juices. 

“I guess so,” Ash replies as she pulls her fingers out of her mouth, not breaking eye contact with Ali. She’s regained her composure when she sees Ali’s eyes light up as she licks her fingers and quickly grabs Ali’s hips to pull her down onto the bed. After quickly reversing their positions, she’s straddling the defender who simply stares back at her with hungry eyes. 

They stare at each other for a moment, their eyes revealing everything that’s gone unsaid all week -the gratitude, the love, the adoration, everything- before Ash can’t take Ali’s intense gaze anymore.

She crashes their lips together while spreading Ali’s legs wider with her knee. She can feel Ali grinding her hips up into her and smirks, feeling how wet her girl is for her already. Normally she would take her time and tease Ali, but she knows things are different now. Quick and dirty seems to be the way to go she thinks as she slips her hand between Ali’s legs and guides two fingers into her girlfriend without warning.

“Fuck, Ash,” she breathes out when she feels her begin sliding her fingers in and out of her deeply, but with a controlled pace. “Fuck me, baby,” she whispers into the keeper’s ear to set her off.

Ashlyn eagerly obliges and picks up her pace, plunging her fingers in and out, while thrusting her hips to get even deeper. She looks down at Ali whose head is thrown back on the pillow, hair strewn haphazardly around her shoulders, eyes closed and lips slightly parted in pure pleasure, as a light sheen of sweat begins to coat her body. Ash can’t help but think how beautiful Ali looks in that moment, a moment she hasn’t seen in quite some time and knows she won’t see as often as she’d like in the future. 

Ali’s fingers digging into her back quickly pull her from her thoughts. She thinks to slow it down and take her time on Ali like she had wanted to early, but when she feels her girlfriend clench around her fingers she knows that would be too cruel. “Cum for me, Alex,” Ash commands as she leans down and takes Ali’s nipple in her mouth, earning a sharp gasp from the brunette.

“I’m close, Ash,” she moans breathlessly as she grips her back even tighter, pulling the keeper into her as she trusts her own hips up to drive her girlfriend’s fingers even deeper. Her head is beginning to swim and she can feel the quickly approaching orgasm begin rippling through her. “Fuck, Ashlyn!” she screams into the keeper’s neck, trying to muffle herself a bit for the sake of the other hotel guests, as the wave of euphoria rips through her all the way down to her toes. “That’s feels so good baby,” she whispers as Ash slows her fingers, pulling them out and ghosting them over Ali’s clit in small circles instead.

Ash smiles when she feels the defender shudder under her touch as she desperately tries to catch her breath. “You alright there?” Ash asks with a laugh when Ali lets out a loud groan.

“Ugh yes. That felt so fucking good,” she replies . “I miss being able to do that whenever we want,” she adds with a rueful grin.

“Me too,” Ash says as she flops over on her back next to Ali. “I love watching you when you cum for me. So fucking hot,” she says with a cocky grin. 

Ali rolls over so that she’s propped up on one elbow and uses her other to begin rubbing Ashlyn’s nipple with her free hand as she looks down at Ash who has her eyes closed. “You worn out already?” she asks innocently as she leans down and replaces her finger with her tongue.

Ash’s eyes go wide when she feels Ali’s tongue run from her nipple up her neck, settling right behind her ear. She can feels Ali’s hot breath tickling her as she nibbles on her earlobe and immediately her senses come alive. “Absolutely not,” she says and quickly drags Ali on top of her. 

 

“Good,” Ali says with a sexy smile as she pulls back from the keeper’s neck. “Because I really want to taste you,” she adds as she begins working her way down her girlfriend’s body. She trails her tongue down her sternum and then swirls it around each nipple for a couple seconds, loving the way Ashlyn’s body is responding to her touch. 

“Come on, Alex,” she pleads. “I didn’t tease you,” she gets out through her heavy breaths.

“True,” Ali says and quickly slides her tongue the rest of the way down, brushing over Ashlyn’s clit before she buries it deep into her.

Ashlyn’s hips rip off the bed and it’s all Ali can do to hold on as her girlfriend thrusts into her face.

“Look at you so wet for me,” Ali mumbles after Ash’s hips settle a bit and she pushes her tongue deep inside her again. 

Ashlyn lets out a moan as she presses her head back into the pillow while gripping the sheets tightly in her hands, her body completely at Ali’s will. She can feel Ali’s tongue shift higher to her clit and then two fingers slip into her. “Fuck, Alex. Don’t stop baby,” she whines as even her toes curl into the sheets with how completely lost in her touch she is. 

Ali works Ashlyn’s clit with her tongue as she slides her fingers in and out, making sure to get as deep as she can to tap the keepers g-spot. She can tell every time she taps it in just the right place by the familiar appreciative grunts that are escaping Ashlyn’s mouth as her chest keeps heaving while she pants for air.

“I’m gonna cum for you,” Ash says moments before Ali feels her ribbed insides tighten around her fingers as she spills out onto her hand and into her mouth.

“Fuckkk,” she draws out as her body goes limp against the bed, her chest rising and falling as she tries to gather her thoughts.

Ali lifts her face from between Ashlyn’s legs after licking her clean and wipes her mouth on Ashlyn’s shirt that’s lying next to them on the bed. She looks down at her girlfriend who is disheveled, sweaty and smells of sex and honestly can’t think of a more beautiful sight at the moment. She only wishes they could have these moments more frequently. “I missed the way you taste,” she says sweetly as she lowers her body down so that her head is resting on the keeper’s shoulder and half of her body is thrown across Ashlyn.

“Mmmm,” Ashlyn hums. “I missed you tasting me,” she happily agrees when words finally come back to her. “I love you so much,” she adds before placing a kiss on top of her head.

“I love you too,” Ali whispers as she cuddles closer into Ashlyn’s side, relishing the skin on skin contact she’s been missing. “Thank you for being so patient with me and the kids.”

“Of course,” Ash says and wraps her arm tighter around Ali’s torso.

They lay there for a few minutes until the feeling of Ali tracing over the tattoos on her ribs becomes too much. Ash lifts her chin a bit with a finger and with one kiss conveys that she’s most certainly ready for the next round. Ali shifts off of her and just as Ash is about to climb on top of her, there’s a knock on the door.

Both women immediately groan, but Ali lifts her head and sees her phone lit up on the nightstand. There are three missed calls from Whit. “Holy shit!” she exclaims and hops out of bed so fast that Ashlyn's eyes go wide.

“What’s wrong?” she asks as Ali digs through the sheets strewn on the ground looking for her clothes.

“Whit called three times! Something must be wrong!” she says frantically. She forgoes the undergarments and just slips on shorts and a hoodie as she runs to the door and yanks it open.

“What happened?” she asked as she carefully grabs a sniffling Ben from Whit’s arms and pulls his head into her chest.

Whit just puts her hands up to calm down the obviously upset defender. “He’s okay!” she states quickly to ease Ali’s escalating worries. Casting her eyes over Ali’s shoulder she has to hold back a laugh when she sees Ashlyn come to the door with an inside out shirt on and frazzled hair, a look she'd seen Ashlyn sporting many mornings when she would come stumbling back to their apartment after her night time escapades. Her friend's worried expression is what pulls Whit back. “I think he might have just ate something bad at dinner. He threw up in my room and then was crying and just kept asking for you two. I’m sorry,” she offers weakly, feeling bad that she ruined their obviously much needed alone time.

“It’s okay,” Ali says as she plants a kiss to the top of his head. “I’m glad you came to us,” she adds honestly.

When Whit sees Ash put a hand on Ben’s back and then peek out in the hall looking for something, she quickly reassures, “HAO and Arod are in my room with little Ali.”

Ash lets out a sigh of relief. “Want me to go get her?” she asks Ali, knowing adult time was over, at least for that night.

“Yeah. Can you grab some Pepto-Bismol from the corner store too, please?” she asks, hoping it might help settle the little boy’s stomach.

Ash nods and walks into the room to throw a jacket on and slip her sandals on her feet. “Care to join me, Whit?” she asks when she reemerges in the doorway.

“Of course,” she says with a smile, seemingly relieved Ali and Ash weren’t upset with her for some reason. “Bye buddy,” she says to Ben quietly and jostles his hair a bit.

“Bye Auntie Whit,” he gets out through his depleting sniffles.

Ash gives Ali a kiss on the cheek before stepping out of the room and letting the door click shut behind her.

Once in the elevator Whit lets out a sigh, “Sorry I interrupted you guys,” she offers sincerely.

Ash puts a hand up to quiet her. “Seriously stop, Whit. Totally not your fault. At least we got an hour,” she says wagging her eyebrows playfully.

“Ew,” Whit groans. “You are too much, Harris.”

Ashlyn pushes the button for the lobby and leans back against the wall. “Sorry!” she says with a chuckle. “So did Ben ask for both of us or just Ali?” she asks, her expression turning serious. Whit drops her eyes to the floor and Ash thinks she knows the answer. “I figured,” she sighs.

Hearing the hurt tone in her voice, Whit lifts her gaze. “Ash,” she begins softly and waits for the keeper’s hazel eyes to make contact with her own. “He asked for his mommies,” she says quietly and then tries to gauge her friend’s reaction.

“Wha…What?” she asks, her eyes lighting up a bit at Whit’s confession.

“He said he wanted his mommies. He meant both of you,” she replies evenly.

“Wow,” Ash breathes out as she steps out of the elevator when the doors open in the lobby. They hadn’t had that talk with each other, let alone Ben who had just been going by calling them Ali and Ashy. Whit’s confession made her realize it’s a talk she needs to have with Ali, and now apparently Ben.

“He hasn’t called you that yet I’m guessing?”

“Neither of us,” Ash replies as she nods at the receptionist and holds the door open for Whit.

“Well then,” Whit replies with a laugh as she turns to her left and begins walking down the sidewalk towards the store. “Guess that’s going to be a fun talk.”

Ash joins in on the laugh as she kicks a small rock in front of them with her sandal. “Guess so,” she supplies. “Never thought I’d have anyone be calling me mom so soon,” she chuckles and shoots Whit a weary grin.

“You’re great for them, Ash. All _three_ of them.”

The keeper smiles widely at the honest words. “I know, Whit. But they’re even better for me. I think I definitely get the better end of the deal,” she adds with a toothy grin.


	20. Struggling

“I can’t feel my fucking legs,” Ali grumbles under her breath as she pulls herself out of the ice bath.

Ash laughs as she watches Ali stand there shivering while toweling off her bright red legs. “Sitting in ice water for ten minutes will do that to you,” Ash offers with a chuckle as she discreetly lets her eyes trace Ali’s body which is covered by only a sports bra and spandex.

“Couldn’t feel ‘em before that either,” she replies sassily as she tosses the towel at Ashlyn who just slipped out of the pool herself. “I can’t wait to nap,” she sighs as she begins walking to the locker room with her girlfriend following close behind.

“We still gotta feed Ali,” Ash states. “And I’m sure Ben is going to play a bit more before he’s tired enough to put down. And don’t forget our Fox Soccer interview is tonight.”

Ali looks at Ash with tired eyes. “Right,” she replies shortly as she yanks open the door to get changed. They’re alone as everyone else is still ice bathing or with the trainer and she wanders to her locker and pulls her change of clothes out before stripping off her wet sports bra and spandex.

Ashlyn subconsciously licks her lips at the sight of her wet, naked girlfriend standing before her as Ali rambles on about their plans for the rest of the day, which she wished involved more napping.

“Really, Ash?” Ali asks in an annoyed tone. She knows their lack of sex lately has been trying on Ash, and admittedly herself as well, but is not in the mood for it at the moment. “Are you even listening to a word I say?”

From the tone in Ali’s voice Ash can immediately tell she’s pissed, but more so than that, exhausted. “Uh, sorry,” she offers lamely as she begins to strip down herself. “How about I take the kids out with some of the girls and you can just relax?”

“I can handle it, Ash,” she challenges with a glare as she slides her dry shorts up over her hips and then quickly pulls her shirt down over her head. She knows her words and tone are harsh, but she’s more so trying to convince herself. Through the three days of practices they’ve gone through since getting to camp Ali has been struggling. She’s not sure if it’s the lack of sleep, the lingering and ever present stress of having two kids thrust upon her or the fact that she missed almost a month being off with the concussion, but her play has been subpar and her confidence is down.

“Okay,” Ash replies calmly, sensing that something deeper is upsetting Ali. She would be lying if she hadn’t noticed her play slipping as well, but knows better than to bring it up. It’s a struggle and they knew it was going to be, but Ash knows that Ali is taking it harder. Before if something like this would happen, they would have had plenty of time to talk through it, but as expected there hasn’t been any abundance of alone time for the couple. Ash still hadn’t had a chance to tell Ali about Ben calling them mom to Whit the other night. She just hoped that with a bit more time Ali will adjust and settle back into her role on the field.

“Ready?” Ash asks as Ali zips up her bag and slings it over her shoulder.

“Yep,” Ali replies with no emotion. She goes to step towards the door, but is immediately wrapped up in a tight hug. For a brief moment she wants to fight it, but as always she can’t resist her girlfriend’s touch. She sinks into Ashlyn’s arms and lets her head fall onto her chest. “I’m sorry,” she breathes out quietly as she feels instantly comforted. “I’m just struggling with this Ash. I’m exhausted and playing like shit.”

“It’s okay, baby,” Ashlyn whispers and plants a kiss on top of her messy hair as she feels Ali’s hold on her get even tighter. “We’ll get through this, Alex. It’s just going to take a little for us to get settled.”

“I love you, Ash.”

“I love you too, beautiful. Now let’s go get our little monsters and get some food so we can all snuggle and pass out in bed.”

Just as Ali pulls back to plant a chaste kiss on the keeper’s lips, the door to the locker room is ripped open.

“Get a room!” calls Pinoe’s voice from the doorway that is followed by a cacophony of laughter.

“Yeah, you two are gross!” adds Syd as she playfully tosses her balled up towel at the still embracing couple.

Ash swats down the towel and lunges at Syd who shrieks and quickly ducks behind Pinoe. “That’s what I thought,” Ash says toughly, puffing out her chest a bit. “Don’t you come at me and my woman,” she adds which gets everyone to break out laughing.

“Aw there’s our tough little keeper coming out to play. I think she’s been a bit too busy with dirty diapers and Nickelodeon lately to come out with us,” Pinoe teases, obviously referring to the fact that Ashlyn hasn’t been out with them a single night that camp.

Tobin laughs as she steps through the door when Pinoe and Syd step out of the way. “Yeah, when’s nap time, Harris?” she joins in and gives Ash’s shoulder a playful push.

Ali stands back watching the interaction take place and can’t help but feel a bit guilty. She knows how much Ashlyn loved unwinding with her friends after a long day of training and this camp she has done anything but. The little down time they have is spent chasing Ben around or trying to get little Ali to stop crying. For a moment she lets the guilty feelings consume her, wishing she had tried to push Ash away a bit harder for her own good, but the next words out of Ashlyn’s mouth erase any and all thoughts of doubt.

“Hey, family first,” she says with a slight shrug of her shoulders like it’s the simplest statement in the world. “Right, Alex?” she asks, turning around to meet Ali’s soft brown eyes.

Ali replies to Ashlyn’s question with a beaming smile as she laces their fingers together. “Right.”

Syd makes a gag noise jokingly. “Alright well if you can sneak out tonight, we’ll be at the bar down the street,” Syd says to Ashlyn behind her hand, pretending to whisper, but making it loud enough so Ali can hear.

“You should go, Ash,” Ali says honestly and nudges the keeper gently with her elbow.

Ash thinks on it for a moment. She’s grateful that Ali is encouraging her to, but is honestly so tired. While she would love to go out and catch up with her friends, she knows a night snuggling in bed with her family watching a movie is what’s in the cards for her. “We’ll see,” she says and looks down at Ali apprehensively. “I promised Ben I would watch a movie with him tonight,” she offers lamely, but everyone can catch the change in her demeanor.

“Well if Ash is going to be lame and stay in with the kids, you should come Kriegs!” Pinoe says excitedly, hoping they can get at least one of them out. They understand the circumstances, but miss their friends and know a night out is definitely needed for them.

“As much as I’d love to, I’m exhausted,” Ali supplies, yawning at the same time. “I’ve actually got to get back to the room before I pass out,” she says with a chuckle and tugs on Ashlyn’s hand to get her to follow.

“Alright, alright. Soon though!” the girls chime in as the couple makes their way out of the locker room.

When the door swings shut behind them, Tobin turns to the other two. “Did anyone else think that was the most awkward encounter you’ve ever had with the two of them?” she asks with concern as she begins tossing clothes into her bag.

“Uhhh yeah you could say that,” Syd replies. She sits down on the bench and strips her cleats off before going to work on her socks  
and shin guards.

Pinoe follows suit and plops down next to Syd. “I think we should do something to cheer them up,” Pinoe states as she digs through her bag for her phone. “They haven’t really hung out with anyone much since they’ve been here.”

Tobin slips on her jacket and nods. “I’ve got an idea. Let me see your phone, Pinoe.” Pinoe looks up at her with a confused expression. “I left mine at the hotel,” she adds quickly and sticks out her hand. Pinoe places it in her palm and Tobin quickly types out a text. “Done,” she says with a smile and tosses her phone back as she slides on her shoes. “See you guys tonight!” she says excitedly as she turns and jogs out of the room, leaving Pinoe and Syd staring down at the text with large grins on their faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any ideas what Tobin's plan is??


	21. Crashing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there's anything you wanna see over the next few chapters let me know and I'll try to work them in!!
> 
> I might not be able to post this weekend since I'll probably be out of cell service on the lake. Hope you guys like it!!

“Perfect. Just try to hold that right there,” comes a voice from behind the camera.  
Ben shifts anxiously in Ashlyn’s lap and the blonde quickly readjusts him and hugs him a bit tighter to keep him in place. “If you’re good I’ll get you some cookies later, Benny,” she whispers in his ear in an attempt to bribe the boy.

“Okay!” he says excitedly and throws his hands in the air as his eyes light up.

Ali casts her eyes to the side at Ashlyn and Ben. “Are you two ready?” she asks with a skeptical expression that's more so directed towards Ash.

“Yep!” chimes in Ben and Ashlyn at the same time.

The three turn their eyes forward and back to the camera. The director gives them a thumbs up as Ash pulls down Ben’s U.S. Soccer polo that had ridden up when he was fidgeting. “Okay, now Ali why don’t you tell us what it’s like being a mom on the U.S. Women’s National Team.”

Ali takes a deep sigh and looks down to the little baby girl in her arms and then over to Ben who is sitting patiently on Ashlyn’s lap. She is suddenly overcome with emotions that she had been pushing deep down the last few days during camp in an attempt to focus. Emotions that are now bubbling to the surface since she’s being asked to speak about them. Just when she thinks she can’t handle it and needs to back out of the interview, she feels Ashlyn’s hand on her own giving it a light squeeze and suddenly knows exactly what to say.

“Well we definitely don’t have quite as much experience as the others, us being the newest ones on the team,” she begins with a light laugh, “but from even these last two weeks I can already say my respect for the others has increased ten fold and I honestly don’t know how they’ve been able to manage it for so long. Even packing for this camp took three times as long as normal! This obviously wasn’t exactly in ours or anyone’s plans, but U.S. Soccer, the coaching staff and the girls on the team have been incredibly understanding and supportive of us from day one. It’s been amazing to have everyone reaching out to us and offering assistance or encouragement, which means so much to both of us. But as great as that is, there’s no way I’d be able to do to this without this amazing woman sitting next to me,” she said as she smiled meaningfully at her girlfriend before giving Ben a slight poke in the ribs causing him to giggle. “Right, Ben?”

“Right!” squeaks the little boy excitedly which causes both of the women to laugh as they share an intimate gaze.

The director breaks them from their stare, “And Ashlyn how do you feel about being a new mom on the team?”

Ashlyn chuckles and gives Ben a tight squeeze, “Obviously as Ali said this wasn’t exactly in the plans, but family always comes first. We might be a bit unorthodox, but this is my family and I would do anything for them.” She places a kiss on top of Ben’s little comb over before looking back into the camera with a more serious expression. ”Being here, being on the verge of the World Cup with my family by my side? That’s the most amazing feeling in the world,” she says with a proud smile. “I wouldn’t trade this for anything,” she finishes as she wraps her arm around Ali’s shoulder and pulls her and baby Ali in tighter to her side.

“Perfect!” yells the Director, clearly happy with the last shot he just got. “I think we’re good! We’ll send this to editing and slip it right in behind Boxxy’s segment before Rampone. “You ladies need anything else?” he asks with a genuine smile. He’s worked with several of the U.S. players and has the utmost respect for what the women do on top of training and playing.

“Yeah my bed!” Ali jokes as she stands up from the stool she had been positioned on.

The Director just laughs and sticks his hand out for them to shake. “Well then get out of here!”

“Thanks,” Ash says as she shakes his hand. “Can’t wait to see how it turns out,” she adds before turning to follow Ali who is gathering their bags with Ben right at her heels.

As they make their way out of the room and towards the elevator in the lobby Ash lets out a loud sigh. “What’d you think?” she asked her girlfriend as they waited for the elevator to show up.

“I think it went well,” she replied. “Just a bit nervous about the feedback. I know the interview with Laura is going to come out right after they run this segment and I’m just skeptical as to how it will be received.”

Ash pondered it for a moment as they waited for the elevator doors to close. “Worried because of us?” she asked quietly. 

Ali just shrugged. “I’m not really _worried_ about anything, Ash. More so I am preparing for the negative comments that are bound to come. I’ve…I’ve never really been on the receiving end of that,” she answers honestly.

Ash knew her statement was true. She didn’t have the track record of a Hope Solo which often drew negative comments or the age of Wambach which drew comments of her being washed up or stunting the growth of better, younger players. Ali had always been seen as a role model with girl next door type looks that was sweet to fans and busted her ass relentlessly on the field, never backing down from any challenge. While all of that was still true, they’d be naïve to think there wouldn’t be blowback, for both of them.

“I’m not going to pretend there won’t be some harsh things said and some negative connotations drawn from this, but it’s life, Alex. If anything, it should make people love you even more. And if they don’t, then who cares? You’re still the best right back in the world and you’re going to prove it in Canada, _while_ being the best mom you can be too. That’s amazing. You’re amazing,” she finishes sincerely, hoping she helped to ease Ali’s worries.

Ali nods as she let it all sink in. “You’re right. Screw the haters,” she says with a laugh, letting her worries slip away for the time being. She had more important things to focus on.

The elevator dings when they reach the third floor and the family steps out.

“Can we watch a movie?” Ben says as he tugs on Ali’s hand.

Ash lifts her wrist up and checks her watch, it’s 6:30pm. She shows it to Ali who nods.

“Of course, buddy. We promised you didn’t we?” she asks. “What do you wanna watch?”

“I dunno,” he replies a bit sadly.

Ash gently grabs Ali’s hand and slows them to a halt. “What’s wrong, Benny?” she asks, squatting down to get eye level.

“We’ve already seen all the movies we brought,” he replies a bit dramatically, but Ash holds back her laugh.

She looks up to Ali who just shrugs and nods. They hadn’t been aware that they needed to pack so many movies.

“Well how about tomorrow night we’ll go out and rent some more?” Ash asks, hoping they can at least get through the night without going bak out.

Thankfully, Ben accepts the answer and nods, before grabbing Ali’s hand again and tugging her down the hall towards their room.

“You sure you don’t want to go out for a bit with the girls?” Ali asks as they stop in front of the room and hands little Ali off to Ash so she can dig through her purse for the key.

“I wish,” Ash said contemplatively. “I really miss hanging with them all, but I honestly just want to snuggle and watch a movie and then go to bed.”

“Me too,” Ali replies with a rueful smile before sliding the key through the door and pulling it open and taking little Ali back.

They take a few steps into the room and when Ash flicks on the light, her jaw drops.

A large pile of kid's movies from the store down the street are sitting on the kitchen counter of the suite along with a box of microwave popcorn and a small assortment of candy. Sprawled out all over the room, on the floor, couch and in the beds is at least three quarters of the team, all in their sleep clothes.

“Wh…what is this?” Ash asks. Ben’s eyes light up and he sprints into the room and jumps up on the bed Ali and Ash usually sleep on to cuddle into Whitney’s side.

Sporting a large grin, Tobin slides off the bed and walks over to them. “We missed you guys and since you guys are understandably tired can’t come out with us, we figured we’d come to you,” she answers with a simplistic  
shrug.

“Yeah we heard someone promised this little man a movie night so we’d figured if it’s okay with you, we’d crash your little family night for a bit,” Pinoe interjects as she sits up from her spot on the bed. "We got popcorn and candy and there's some sodas in the fridge too." She looks back at them with a hopeful, excited glint in her eyes, praying they won't shoo the team out. 

Ali wipes a stray tear from the corner of her eye as she makes eye contact with HAO from across the room who gives her a nod. “You guys are amazing,” she says softly, trying to contain her emotions from spilling out. 

“We know! I even got Skittles which I heard are someone's favorite,” Syd adds as she shoots a wide eyed glance to Ben which causes everyone to laugh and Pinoe to hit her with a pillow.

"Well I bought peanut butter pretzels which are someone else's favorite!" Pinoe replies as she meets Ali's gaze in a teasing attempt to one up Syd. 

Tobin waits for the laughter to die down and then grabs the movies off the counter and walks them over to Ben. “So bud, which do you want to watch?” she asks as she spreads them out so he can look.

Whitney leans forward with him and helps by reading off the titles to him. His eyes light up when she points to one of them with little fish on it and reads off the name.

“NEMO!” he shrieks excitedly and shoves the movie towards Ashlyn who had walked over to check out the choices.

“What do we say, Benny?” she asks over Kelley and Cheney’s excited cheers over his movie choice.

He drops his eyes a bit when he catches the blonde’s tone. “Can we watch Nemo?” he asks from under his long, curled eyelashes.

“Not good enough,” Ash says and looks back at him expectantly.

“Pwease can we watch Nemo, Ashy?” he asks in the cutest voice that causes everyone in the room to aw at him.

She leans down and places a kiss on his head. “Of course we can. Especially since you used such good manners,” she adds, letting him know his good behavior is appreciated. She walks over and pops the movie in while Ali hands the baby off to Syd with a thankful smile, who settles her on her chest right over the UCLA logo on her sweater. Ali nudges Pinoe who scoots over and lets the defender sink into the bed between her and Syd. 

Ash grabs the remote off the armrest of the couch and then squeezes in between Tobin and Whit who still has Ben curled into her side, head resting on her shoulder.

Arod flicks the lights off as the movie starts playing, but even through the darkness, the beaming smiles on Ashlyn and Ali’s faces shine bright.


	22. Surprise!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back from the lake! I was able to write a bit so now that I'm in cell service, here's an update :)

“Come here, Benny,” Ali says after she sets baby Ali in her carrier as she slides into her seat at the dinner table after returning from changing her. She leans forward and wipes his mouth clean with the corner of her napkin.

“Aw he looked cute with chocolate all over his face!” Ashlyn playfully whines as she watches the interaction next to her.

Ali just shakes her head and shoots the keeper a glare. “We’re having a guest speaker come in a few minutes and I don’t want my son to be covered in chocolate since I’m assuming there will be some sort of film or camera crew showing up.”

The keeper sinks back in her seat and concedes for the moment, knowing Ali was slightly annoyed that she had only been gone for a few minutes and returned to find her laughing at his chocolate covered face. Truthfully, she thought it was hilarious and Ali would appreciate the laugh, but that apparently wasn’t the case. She leans over and rocks a sleeping baby Ali in her carrier gently with her foot before pulling her eyes back and meeting Ali’s with a sheepish grin.

“What am I going to do with you two,” Ali finally says with a laugh as she pinches both of their cheeks.

Ben simply shrugs and shovels his last spoonful of ice cream into his mouth.

“You’re stuck with us,” Ash says as she follows suit. “Right, bud?”

“Yep!” Ben says cheerily around a mouthful of ice cream, which thankfully only some dribbles out of his mouth.

“Benjamin Michael,” Ali chastises the boy, but before she can go to clean him off, Ash has already dipped her cloth napkin in her water glass and is dabbing at the stain on his little blue polo.

She looks at Ali with a smile, “Good thing we packed like a billion other shirts, right?”

Ali is about to respond, when the door at the side of the room opens. She turns to look and her jaw instantly drops as a wide smile fills her face from ear to ear. She throws her hands over her face and squeals loudly and though Ash can’t tell what she’s so excited about, she thinks her girlfriend has never looked cuter than in that moment.

Finally, it all makes sense when she sees Ali’s mom walk into the room and yell, “SURPRISE!” followed by Pinoe’s mom, Syd’s mom, Whitney’s mom, _her_ mom.

The voice level in the room escalates exponentially as the girls hop out of their chairs and run to wrap their mother’s up in big hugs. Ali stays by the table, but quickly stands up to throw her arms around her mom when she makes it over to her.

“What are you doing here!?” she shrieks as her mom wraps her arms tightly around her.

“Fox Soccer flew all us moms in!” Deb replies with a smile as she pulls back to look at Ali. 

“You look so tired honey,” she adds as she looks at the slight bags under her daughter’s eyes.

“It’s been a long couple weeks,” Ali manages with a laugh, shrugging off her mother's concern for the time being. 

Deb lets it go for a moment before turning and looking around, “Where’s my daughter-in-law?” she asks, teasing Ali.

Ali stands on her tip toes and looks around the room where she sees Ashlyn in a tight embrace with her mother, both sobbing. The keeper had called her mom to tell her about the kids and they had also Skyped and introduced them, but she knew this was definitely an emotional reunion for the pair. 

“She’s with her mom,” she says quietly, trying to fight the tears that are coming to her eyes as well at the emotional scene before her.

Deb looks down at her with a knowing smile. “How about we grab the kids and introduce them to their grandma?” she asks as she scoops Ben up in her arms.

Ali looks to her mom with a warm, appreciative smile. “That sounds perfect,” she replies and bends to lift baby Ali out of the carrier.

They make their way to the crowd to the side of the room where Ashlyn and her mom are still hugging tightly. Ali places her hand on Ashlyn’s shoulder and she turns to meet her eyes. She lifts baby Ali up to show her intentions and Ash smiles before letting go of her mom.

“Mom,” she says a bit choked up as she takes the baby from Ali’s arms, “This is your new granddaughter, Ali Brianne.”

Tammye puts her hand to her mouth as she takes in the sight of her daughter holding the gorgeous baby girl. She puts her arms out and Ash slips her into them. “She’s absolutely beautiful,” she whispers as she looks down in awe.

“It’s those Krieger genes,” Ash replies with a wink to her girlfriend, at which Deb just playfully rolls her eyes.

“Always the charmer aren’t you, Ashlyn?” she jokes and then pulls her into a hug.

“I can’t believe you’re all here!” Ash says excitedly as Deb releases her from the hug. She turns back to her mom. “I thought you weren’t going to be able to meet them until after the World Cup,” she whispers sadly at the thought that things were going to be so crazy her mom wouldn’t get to meet the new members in her life for quite some time.

“I wouldn’t miss this for the world, honey. Now who is this handsome little man?” she asks as she looks to the boy now holding Ashlyn’s hand.

Ash steers Ben in front of her and places her hands firmly on his shoulders. “This is my best buddy Benjamin.”

“Well it’s nice to meet you, Benjamin,” she replies with a warm smile as she hands little Ali off to a patiently waiting Deb. “Can I have a hug?” she asks to which the boy looks up curiously at Ashlyn.

“Ben this is _my_ mom,” she says with a big smile. “She took care of me growing up like your mommy and Ali and I take care of you,” she explains. 

The boy looks from Tammye and then to Ali and back to Ashlyn. “So she’s your mommy like you and Ali are kinda like my mommies?” he asks with pure innocence, clearly unaware of the effect his words would have on the women around him.

Ali’s hand goes to her mouth as does Deb’s. The defender squats down to Ben’s level next to Ashlyn and puts her hand on his bank. 

“What do you mean, Benny?” she asks cautiously, wanting to get the boy's honest thoughts on what 'kinda like my mommies' meant.

He just nods. “I dunno," he says with a nonchalant shrug. "You take care of me and baby Ali like a mommy would and say you love us like my mommy always did, so you're kinda like my mommy,” he replies like it’s the simplest thing in the world. "Right, Ali?" he finishes as he meets her gaze with his big blue eyes.

Ali wraps him up tightly in her arms, and Ashlyn pulls the pair into her own. “Right. We love you Benny,” Ali whispers.

Tammye and Deb look at each other with beaming smiles at the interaction before them. At first Tammye had been worried about how her daughter would handle the new responsibility and the stress, pressure and headaches that came with it. In that instant though, she could feel the love her daughter had for the three of them and knew that she had made the right decision.

The trio pulls apart and Ali quickly wipes the corner of her eyes. They look around and notice that almost everyone had settled back into the seats and their had many pairs of watery eyes were trained on them, teammates and moms alike. With a slight blush Ali grabs Ben’s hand and leads the kids and their moms back to their table so Jill can fill them in on the game day plans.

Less than twenty minutes later, Jill had finished up and given them the rest of the night off to enjoy spending time with their families.

“So what’s the plans?” Ali asked excitedly as the Kriegers and Harris’ made their way out of the room and into the lobby.

Deb and Tammye looked at each other mischievously before Deb spoke up. “Tammye and I were going to take the kids for a little if that’s okay with you? We want to spend some grandmother time and bond with them,” she adds with a warm smile.

Ali’s eyes go wide at the statement. It’s not that she didn’t trust them, it’s just that she had expected them to all spend time together. “No, we’d love to spend some time with everyone together!” she argues. She shoots her eyes to Ash who shrugs.

“You two go enjoy a few hours of alone time. It looks like you need it," Tammye says with a knowing look. "The kids will be fine,” she asserts as she shifts baby Ali in her arms.

“Ashlyn?” Ali asks her girlfriend to back her up.

Ash shrugs again and digs her toe into the ground. “I think it’d be good to let them all bond for a little,” she says quietly, agreeing with their mothers.

Looking at all three of their determined faces, Ali can tell she is outnumbered. “Fine,” she huffs. “Only a couple hours though!” she whines.

“Alex, we’ll all be together tomorrow before and after the game,” her mother argues. “Go enjoy your time,” she says and lightly nudges her daughter.

They give the kids a quick kiss and hug each of their mothers before turning to leave.  
As Ali watches Ashlyn bend down and set Ben back to the ground she sees her shirt lift up a bit exposing her lower back and instantly she’s grateful for more alone time. She grabs the keeper’s hand and they make they make their way back to the room.

Ash plops down on the bed with a loud sigh. “Peace and quiet,” she says with a happy smile. The lack of noise is definitely something she’s come to value.

“It’s not going to be quiet for much longer when you’re screaming out my name,” Ali says as she approaches the bed seductively, playing with the hem of her shirt.

Ashlyn’s eyes go wide, but she quickly puts her hands up to stop Ali’s advances. “Whoa there killer,” she says with a laugh as Ali straddles her lap.

“What?” Ali asks while slowly blinking her eyelashes against Ashlyn’s neck.

The sensation is driving the keeper wild, but she wants to put this time to good use, not that that isn't. “Alex, I want to take you out,” she gets out as she feels Ali’s hand slide underneath her shirt.

“What?” Ali asks and pulls back a bit to meet the keeper’s gaze.

Ash sighs. “We’ve been cooped up here and between soccer and sleep and the kids haven’t really had any us time. Will you go out on a date with me? There’s a great club for dancing right down the street. Just for one hour?”

As turned on as Ali was, Ashlyn’s confession and desire to take her out dancing was sweet. She looked to the clock and then back to Ash. “We have two hours before curfew, right?” she asks and Ash nods. “Well it’ll only take us thirty minutes to get ready and twenty to walk there and back,” she says as she slips her hand back under her girlfriend’s shirt and slides it up underneath her bra to cup her breast. “You want to be there for one hour,” she adds while starting to kiss Ashlyn’s neck. “So if my math is correct, that leaves me ten minutes to make you cum,” she whispers in Ashlyn’s ear before biting down on her earlobe. “Right?” she asks and pulls back a bit to meet Ashlyn’s eyes with her own dark ones.

Ashlyn doesn’t answer with words, instead grips Ali’s hips and flips their positions so that’s she hovering over her. “I’ll need three to make you cum first. So that only leaves you seven. Think you can manage?” she asks with a cocky smirk as she pulls her girlfriend's jeans down.

“Challenge accepted, Harris.”


	23. A Few Days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are starting to get a bit more intense in these next few chapters. Let me know what you think!

"How's she really doing?" Deb asks a moment after Ali excused herself to go speak to the coaches who were asking for her.

Ashlyn squirms in her seat a bit under Deb's knowing gaze. On one hand she wants to respect Ali's wishes, but on the other she knows the defender is really struggling as evidence by her poor performances lately. 

"Ashlyn?"

Now her own mother's voice pulls her from her thoughts. "She's uh...she's struggling a bit," she answers honestly, unable to hide the truth from their mothers. 

"Yeah she looks exhausted," Deb says as she sits back in her seat a bit with worry written across her face.

Ash nods and awkwardly plays with her straw in her water glass while trying to avoid their gaze. "She hasn't been sleeping well and is always insisting on getting up with the baby, rarely letting me." The keeper feels guilty, like she's spilling Ali's secrets without her consent, but honestly doesn't know what else to do. 

"And how are you doing, Ashlyn?"

Ash looks up at her mom and shrugs. "I'm good. Been playing well in practices and the coaches are happy with me." 

"Well that's good," Ali's mom replies with a genuine smile. Even though she knows Ali is suffering, she's genuinely glad the keeper is doing well.

As Ali comes back to the table the group quickly quiets down.

"Am I interrupting something?" she asks with a slightly annoyed tone as she looks down at the three quiet women.

"Nothing really," Ashlyn breaks the silence. "What did coaches want?" she asks to change the conversation.

"To tell me how bad I played," she says with a cold laugh.

"Really, Alex?" Ash says with a contrite glare.

 

_"Krieger, you're up. Sub in for Chalupny and move Kling to the left side," calls Jill in her soft accent._

_With a big smile on her face Ali finishes her last stretch before jogging toward the 4th Official to check in. She gives her teammates high fives on the way and gets a gentle pat on the butt from Ashlyn and HAO as she passes._

_As she stands at center field and waits for a stoppage in the game, her nerves are taking over. She knows she's been struggling in practices and had she not been who she was, there's no way Jill would have even considered putting her in. Still, she's learned in all her years of soccer that it doesn't matter how you get the opportunity, you just have to make the best of it._

_Finally, Lloyd blasts the ball at the net, but the keeper parries it away, sending the ball bouncing back through the six yard box. Pinoe approaches it and rips a shot, but it sails just high and wide for an Ireland goal kick._

_The referee waves her onto the field with a little less than fifteen minute left and as she's waiting for Chalupny to jog off she casts her eyes into the stands, where Ben is standing on her mother's knees frantically waving. It puts a smile on her face, but only for a brief moment before she puts her game face back on. She's here for one thing and one thing only right now and that's to prove to the coaches and more so herself that she can do this, that she made the right decision._

_The first few minutes are quite uneventful. For the most part the ball has been kept in the Ireland half and the U.S. is peppering their goal with shots that just aren't going in. Ali's touched the ball a few times, but it's only been to swing the ball around to JJ or Becky._

_With ten left, Cheney takes a shot that the keeper quickly gathers up. She distributes to her defender on the left side who quickly sends it up the flank. One of the forwards cuts from the middle and makes a run out wide, perfectly timing it as she slides right by Ali and chases after the ball. Ali turns on the burners, but quickly realizes she doesn't have to normal energy and speed as she sees the striker pulling away from her. It's all she can do to sprint back and make a lame attempt to block the shot, but the Ireland player gets a solid shot off._

_Hope makes a miraculous diving save on the shot that even the audience thinks is bound for the back of the net judging by the noise they make when she pushes it wide with her fingertips. "Clean it up, Krieger," she calls in her piercing voice as they set up for the corner kick._

_The rest of the time goes by fairly quickly. Ali sends a few nice crosses into the box but the timing is off either with the cross or the runs and no one connects on them. She feels her confidence draining even more, but tries to shake it as another Ireland attacker gets the ball and is dribbling at her. She steps to the ball, but is a split second off on the tackle and her opponent easily slides the ball by her on the way to net. Luckily, JJ was in good cover and easily slides to send the ball out for a throw in, but against a better team that could have been a costly mistake._

_"You got it, Alex! Finish strong!" she hears Ash yell from the bench, followed by some of her teammates uttering other encouraging words, but she can't shake the daunting feeling in the pit of her stomach as time finally expires._

 

"Ash, I only played fifteen minutes and got burned twice...badly. We were lucky Ireland didn't score off the second one. I just...I wasn't in it today and they are obviously well aware of that," she says as she throws her hands up in the air in frustration. 

"You're just getting back into things," Ash replies and casts a glance to their mothers, who are smartly staying out of the couple's conversation, for backup. "You're still adjusting, Al."

"Right," Ali replies, effectively tabling the discussion for the time being as the waitress comes for their orders.

In her mind though, she can't shake the doubts that are slowly creeping through her mind. It's been less than a week at camp and she's barely been able to make it through. She honestly isn't sure that she'll ever adjust. The lack of sleep and stress is draining on her and she just hasn't been able to focus. She looks to her left to see Ash laughing and joking with their moms and can't help but wonder how she's able to function so well. Ash has been killing it in practice, even with little sleep and the same stress. 

"You alright there babe?" Ash asks and gives her a slight nudge to pull her from her thoughts.

"Oh yeah. Sorry just tired," she offers weakly and tunes back into the conversation. 

They catch up for a bit while waiting for their food until little Ali starts crying. Ash goes to get up, but Ali puts her hand up to stop her. Ash scoots around her outstretched hand and swoops down to grab little Ali from her carrier, rock info her in her arms as she makes her way to the bathroom to change her.

"Alex, honey, you look exhausted," her mom starts as the women watch Ashlyn carry the baby off with smiles on their faces.

"I am," she agrees, finally beginning to let the cracks in her armor show. 

"Why don't you let me take baby Ali for a few nights so you can catch up on sleep?" she asks, sincerity and concern evident in her voice.

Ali just shrugs and lets out a sigh. "I think I'll be fine, mom. Just need to get my head back in the game so I can get back in the starting line up," she states simply as she begins to poke at her salad that the waitress just delivered.

"Alright," Deb concedes as she stabs at a crouton on her own plate. "Just consider it. I'm willing to take her for as long as you need. My offer stands anytime," she says.

Ali just nods and continues eating her salad with an uneasy feeling in her stomach. She knows her mother means well, but she can't help but take her offer to help a bit personally. 

Later that night as they're climbing into bed, Ashlyn slips behind Ali and pulls her in close. "How are you feeling beautiful?" she asks through a yawn.

"Fine," Ali mumbles as she scoots farther back and presses her body into the warm keeper. 

"Honestly," Ash prods a bit further as she snakes her arms tighter around her girlfriend. "We said we'd be honest, Alex."

Ali lets out a deep sigh and turns in Ashlyn's arms so that they're face to face. "I'm scared, Ash," she finally confesses.

"Of what, baby?"

"I'm scared that I can't do this. I'm exhausted all the time and I'm playing like shit, I'm being short with you and I'm barely able to engage with Ben without falling asleep. I...I know you said I need time to adjust, but time is running out. We leave for Canada in three weeks! With everything that's happened I just can't get into it, I can't get focused and I'm not sure even time will get me there. It's a lot and I'm just scared I can't do it all, Ash."

Ashlyn pulls Ali into her tighter as she processes her girlfriend's heartfelt confession. She takes a deep breath and asks the question that's been on her mind since day one. "How would you feel about me stepping away from the team?" she asks quietly and holds her breath waiting for an answer. 

"What?!" Ali replies in a heightened voice level. "Ash, you're doing great. It's _me_ that can't handle this."

Ashlyn pulls back a bit so she can meet Ali's gaze. "You're the one this team needs, Ali," she states sadly, but honestly. "You're the best outside back on this team, probably in the world and let's be honest...the only way I even step foot on the field is if Solo gets hurt. This team needs you more than me and we both know it. Let me step away and take care of Ben and little Ali. Let me take care of our family and you go win us all a gold medal."

In that moment, Ali honestly doesn't think she's ever loved Ashlyn more. Her confession is the most selfless thing she's ever witnessed, but she knows she can't let the keeper follow through. She's worked too hard and fought through too much for her to take that away from the keeper. "Ash, I can't let you give up on your dreams. You deserve this. You've worked so hard to get here and that's not fair to you."

"Who said life was fair?" Ash asks with a small laugh, trying to inject some levity into the increasingly heavy conversation.

"As amazing as I think you are for offering, I can't let you do that," Ali responds sincerely. "I would never forgive myself for that, Ashlyn and whether you want to believe it or not at some point you would come to resent me for it. I...I'll give it a few more days and if it doesn't get better, I'm going to talk to Jill and remove myself from camp."

She states it with a tone of authority, but Ashlyn can sense the fear in her voice. The fear that this actually might not work out, that they might not make it to the World Cup together despite how far they've come. 

She wants to argue, to try and reason and knock some sense into Ali, but knows, especially at that moment, it's no use. Ali will do what Ali thinks is best for her family, and so will she. "Give it a few days before we decide anything, okay?" she asks in an attempt to buy herself some more time.

"Okay," Ali whispers through a long yawn as she lays her head back down on her girlfriend's chest and snuggles in, trying to will her mind to clear so she can fall asleep. 

"Okay," Ashlyn responds thankfully as she begins to wrack her brain for ideas while Ali drifts off to sleep in her arms.


	24. Not The Only Option

Ali reluctantly rolls over from her nap after their second session to grab her phone from the bedside table to silence it. When she sees who it is, she lets out a small sigh and answers it instead. "Hey, Kyle." 

"Hey! How's my girl doing?" he asks in a chipper tone. 

"Been better," she grumbles before wiping the sleep from her eyes. "How's being back in L.A.? I wish you could have stayed longer with mom."

"It's good. I wish I could have stayed longer too. Just had to get back for some big clients that were swinging through town," he says a bit sadly. He honestly wishes he could have stayed and helped out more, but unfortunately had to fly out late Sunday night after the game so he could make his Monday morning appointments. "Wish I coulda stayed and helped with the craziness."

"Yeah," she replies quietly.

Kyle can sense a shift in her mood and knows exactly what caused it. "I'm guessing you've read some of the comments?" he asks and waits patiently for an answer.

Ali lets out a cold laugh. "Yeah. Pretty interesting reading material."

Her tone is flat and emotionless, but Kyle can pick up on the slight hurt in it. "Wanna talk about it?" he offers.

"Not really much to talk about, Kyle. I knew there were going to be negative things said and people that didn't understand."

"How's Ash doing with it?"

"Ash is Ash," she states with a sense of nonchalance. "She doesn't care what people think and besides it's not like she really needed to announce that she was gay for people to pick up on it."

Kyle ponders the statement for a minute, but knows there's not much to argue. Ash has always been a more free-spirited and open person than his sister and really didn't care what other people thought. It's not that Ali necessarily did, but she just wasn't used to the negativity. "True," he replies simply and decides to let Ali continue the conversation or end it if she wants.

She decides to carry it on. "Kyle, one person literally wrote 'She's too hot to be gay' but I think my favorite was 'She just must not have gotten the right dick yet.' Like who the fuck says that?" she asks incredulously, her tone rising high enough that she's thankful Ash has the kids in Tobin and Kelley's room for a movie. "Another personal favorite of mine was, 'women belong at home raising their children' or how about, 'too bad those kids' parents died because now they're stuck with lesbian moms without even getting a say in it'. Like, why are people so damn close minded?"

"You and Ashlyn are doing nothing wrong and you know it, Alex. That's just how some people are," Kyle says with a sad tone. "But look at all the people who love and support you two. I'd say nine out of ten are good."

"You read them all?" Ali asks a bit surprised.

"Of course I did. You're my baby sister," he manages with a chuckle. "What did Ash say about them?"

"You know her, just focus on the good," Ali finally laughs, thinking back to that morning when Ash had tried to cheer her up by reading every positive comment that had been posted not only on the Fox Soccer interview, but also their Twitter and Facebook. 

"She's perfect for you," Kyle finally says sincerely.

"I know," Ali agrees. "She's the best. I couldn't do this without her. Honestly I'm not even sure I can do this with her," she quietly confesses.

"What was that?" Kyle asks for clarification.

Quickly deciding she doesn't want to get into it at the moment, she shrugs it off. "Nothing, Kyle. Listen I've got about an hour to nap before Ash comes back with the kids so I'm going to let you go. I'll call tomorrow, okay?"

"You got it!" Kyle says happily. "Love you!"

"Love you too," she mumbles before ending the call and tossing the phone on the bed next to her.

After rolling herself back up into the crisp white sheets, she closes her eyes and allows her mind to wander as she tries to force herself back to sleep. 

Five minutes of tossing and turning go by before her thoughts finally consume her. She can't ignore them anymore or pretend they aren't eating her away inside. She rolls over and picks up her phone again, quickly punching in another number. 

"Hello?" comes a voice from the other end of the line.

"Hey do you have a few minutes to talk?" Ali replies and bites her bottom lip anxiously.

"Of course. I'll be by your room in five, okay?"

Ali breathes out a sigh of relief. "Perfect. Thank you."

The phone clicks down on the other room and she quickly slips out of bed to throw on some clothes since she had been napping in her underwear and sports bra, too tired from practice to have even changed. 

Just as she was finished downing a water bottle, there was a knock on the door. She tossed the bottle in the recycling receptacle before tugging open the door. "Hey, Christie," she greets with a tired smile as the older woman pulls her in for a tight hug.

"Hey," she replies when she pulls back and looks over her fellow defender. "How are you holding up?" she asks with a tone that lets Ali know she'll be able to tell if she lies.

Ali walks them into the room and plops down on the green fabric couch in the middle of the room. "I'm not okay," she answers truthfully and for the first time out loud to someone other than her girlfriend.

"I'm guessing that's why I'm here?" Christie asks knowingly as she sinks into the chair across from Ali and meets her tired gaze.

Ali simply chuckles. "Yeah I guess you could say that."

Christie makes herself comfortable, knowing this could be a long talk. "Well, start from the beginning. Where's your head at?"

"Honestly, I'm doubting that I can do this. I don't think I can make it to the World Cup and fulfill my responsibilities at the same time."

Christie nods at the confession. "And what's behind that?" she asks to dig a bit deeper.

"I haven't gotten any sleep. I'm stressed and exhausted and we all know it's affecting my play. I haven't been playing even close to what I am capable of and everyone knows it. Jill basically told me as much yesterday after the Ireland game." She pauses before saying what's really been on her mind. "How do you do it? How do you juggle it all and know it's worth it in the end?" She meets the older center backs soft eyes and waits for a response. 

"It's hard," Christie begins. "It's always hard and there's always extra stress and less sleep when there's kids involved. You having a newborn is on a completely different level too. None of us have had kids here that little, and I'm in no way saying it's wrong, I'm just saying that makes it ten times harder since little Ali can't even sleep through the night."

Ali sighs and drops her eyes. "Yeah well it's not like I had a choice whether or not to bring them. It was either come with them or don't come at all."

"I don't think that's your only option," Christie states cautiously, knowing she's treading on thin ice. 

"And what other option is there?" Ali asked with a confused tone.

"Your mom?" she offers.

"H...how would you know about that?" Ali's face turns serious and the wrinkles in her forehead become a bit more pronounced.

Christie leans forward, knowing her statement could make or break the trust they have established. "I'll be honest, Ali, I basically had this same conversation this morning when Ashlyn came to me."

"What?!" Ali replies, immediately feeling a sense of betrayal.

Christie puts up her hands and settles her tone to try to calm Ali. "She's worried about you, Kriegs. She only wants the best for you and your family and she's as confused as you about all this. Whatever you decide, Ashlyn is doing it with you."

Ali lets the words settle as she takes a few deep breaths. She knows Ashlyn is doing what she thinks is best, but is still slightly bothered by it. She tables those feelings for now though so she can focus on the conversation. 

"It doesn't matter. She's my responsibility. They're my responsibility. Look at everything they've been through. They need some type of stability in their lives right now, don't they? I can't just hand them off to my mom because it's hard, Christie. What kind of mother would that make me?" she asks with a contrite tone.

"That would make you the kind of mother I am," Christie replies evenly as she meets Ali's gaze. The confused look on Ali's face lets her know to clarify. "When things are too much, I leave the girls at home with Chris," she states simply. "I didn't bring Rylie with me until she was almost 2 and could sleep through the night so that she was manageable, same with Reece. I don't think that makes me less of a mother, do you?"

Something finally clicks in Ali's mind. "No, I think you're one of the best mothers I know," she replies sincerely.

Christie can see she's getting through so she pushes a bit further. "Kriegs, I won't say I understand exactly what you're going through because your circumstance is so different than anyone's here and I'm truly sorry for what happened to your family. I know you're also in a different situation than the rest of us who can leave our kids at home with spouses, since Ashlyn is here _with_ you, but still. I don't think that anyone will think any less of you if you ask for some help. Your mom is willing to help and I promise it won't make you a bad mother if you accept it." She pauses before adding, "When baby Ali is old enough to understand, you think she would want to know that she held you two back from your dreams? The dreams you've worked your entire life to achieve?"

"I don't know," Ali replies, consumed by her thoughts again. 

"Well I know my girls tell me everyday to do what it takes to win them a gold medal."

"Really?" Ali asks.

Christie nods her head. "Kids are pretty understanding, Kriegs. Little Ali is too young to even know who she's with right now. It's your decision entirely, well your's and Ashlyn's, but just remember that there's no shame in asking for help. Trust me over the course of their lifetime, you're definitely going to need it," she finishes with a reassuring smile.

Ali can't even begin to wrap her head around everything Rampone just told her. She's made some valid points, but Ali still can't fully accept the fact that it's okay to pass her responsibility off, especially considering all Ben and little Ali had been through. Still, she does feel a bit better about everything after hearing it from the mouth of someone she greatly respects with a lot of experience in the matter. "Thanks for the talk," she says with the biggest smile she can muster, though it doesn't quite meet her eyes.

"Of course," she replies before standing up and making her way towards the door. After pulling it open, she turns to face Ali one last time before stepping out. "Remember, your family needs you, but your country does too. Whatever you decide, we'll all support you one hundred percent. Just think about it." With that she gives Ali a final pat on the shoulder before turning and making her way down the hall.


	25. Strong Women

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are going to speed up a bit time wise after this chapter!

"So how would this work?" Ali asks quietly as she swirls her straw in her drink, unable to make eye contact.

"It would work however you want it to, Alex," her mother replies simply.

Ali thinks on it for a minute and casts her eyes to her right where Ashlyn is sitting back in her chair watching the two women discuss plans. Ash nods in support and Ali continues. "I would want to pay for your hotel room obviously. It'd just be for the rest of camp and then Canada."

Deb nods but seems to be thinking something she's not saying.

"What?" Ali asks as she finally meets her mother's eyes.

"Are you sure it wouldn't be easier for me to have them both? And take them back to D.C. for the time being?" her mother asks cautiously.

"I want them here with us. _We_ want them here with us. I wouldn't feel right just sending you back to D.C." Ali replies.

She's shocked when Ashlyn leans forward and begins speaking to her in a soft tone.

"Alex, we only have this week of training and then the game Sunday before we go back for our hometown She Believes events for the week. It might make sense for your mom to take them so we can both focus. It's just a week," Ash finishes though it's a bit weaker than she started when she sees Ali's face harden a bit.

"You want to just send them back home without us?" Ali asks, though it's not really backed with anger.

"It's one week. One week to focus, catch up on sleep and get out heads back into the game. Canada is a different story and we have time to figure out how that will work, but I think we _both_ need this week. Remember what Christie said," Ashlyn reminded her, trying to get Ali to see her side of things.

Her memory is jogged by Ashlyn's words and she does feel a bit calmer. She has to keep reminding herself that asking for some help doesn't make her a bad mother, it just makes her human. "Alright," she breathes out and smiles slightly when Ashlyn squeezes her hand reassuringly. "You can definitely take little Ali, but we're leaving the choice up to Ben whether or not he wants to stay with us or go back to D.C.," she says with a sense of finality.

"I think that's a great idea," Ash backs her up with a smile. "Right, Deb?"

The older woman nods before finishing the rest of her iced tea. "Well why don't you two go discuss it with him and let me know so I can make arrangements."

"Okay," Ali agrees and sets down a few bills on the table to cover their lunch.

As her and Ash get up to head to Kelley and Tobin's room to relieve them of babysitting duties, her mom puts up her hand to halt them. She slides out of her seat and wraps both women up in a tight hug.

"I'm proud of you two," she says seriously and smiles when both of their faces scrunch in confusion. "It takes a strong woman to know her limitations and ask for help. Remember that," she finishes with a knowing smile before turning to grab her purse off the chair next to her.

"Thanks, mom," Ali says with a smile. "We'll go talk to Ben and give you a call shortly, okay?"

Deb nods as they all turn and make their way out of the hotel restaurant and into the lobby. "I'll be in my room packing and booking the airfare. Call me as soon as you know."

Ali and Ash nod and part ways with Deb in the lobby. Kelley and Tobin's room was located on the first floor so they waved goodbye to her at the elevator and kept trudging down the hall.

Ali smiles as Ashlyn knocks on the door when they hear a familiar rambunctious giggle from the other side of it.

"Who is it?" calls Kelley in a sing song voice.

"Who do you think it is?" Ashlyn says with a chuckle.

The door doesn't immediately open and they can hear some sort of whispering followed by a tiny little boy's giggle.

"What's the password?" chirps Ben which causes Kelley and Tobin to laugh as well as Ali and Ash.

"Is that my little Benjamin?" Ali calls out and rolls her eyes at Kelley and Tobin's antics since they obviously put him up to this.

"Password?" he squeaks again in his tiny, high pitched voice.

Ali is about to respond when Ash puts her hand out to quiet her. "Hmmm if we're not allowed in then I guess we can't tell Ben about our plan to go get ice cream, can we Ali?" she asks rather loud so that it's audible through the door.

"Guess not. We'll have to go get ice cream on our own," Ali replies when she catches on to Ash's plan. “Too bad…”

"I can't! Ice cream, Kelley!" comes Ben's voice from the other side of the door as he argues with Kelley before it’s quickly ripped open. "I'm here! I'm here!" Ben yells and jumps up at Ali to be picked up.

"Aw there's my sweet boy," Ali coos and pulls him up into her arms. She walks into the room with Ashlyn in tow and shakes her head at Kelley and Tobin who are still giggling. "Smooth, O'Hara," she says with a chuckle of her own.

"Turning our own against us!" Ash interjects and playfully punches Kelley in the arm. "What is this?!"

"Ow." Kelley rubs her arm and teasingly glares at Ash. "Why didn't Tobin get punched?" she asks with a scrunched nose.

"Because Tobin smartly decided to pick up my pretty princess so I couldn't punch her," she laughs and Tobin mischievously nods in agreement. "How was she?" she asks as Tobin slides baby Ali into her arms.

"She was great!" Tobin replies with a genuine smile. "They both were," she adds quickly as she looks at Ben who is squirming in Ali's arms.

"Well, thanks for watching them!"Ali says as she shifts Ben and tries to wrangle him a bit better.

"Of course!" Kelley and Tobin chime in together.

“Bye buddy!” Tobin calls out to Benjamin who tiredly waves as Ali carries him out of the room.

Ash looks at Ali and Ben with a smile, noting how he’s cutely curled up in her arms. “Looks like someone’s ready for a nap,” she says teasingly as she ruffles his hair a bit and leans in to kiss the top of his head while they wait for the elevator to reach their floor.

“Nuh uhh,” he replies through a yawn and shakes his head, though there's not much fight in his voice.

Ali rolls her eyes at the stubborn boy while stepping out of the elevator. “Well it’s a good thing you’re awake because Ashlyn and I have something to talk to you about,” she says in a serious tone to convey the importance of the conversation.

Once Ashlyn has the door open they all slip inside and make their way into the room. Ash carefully settles a sleeping baby Ali into her portable crib and then turns to find Ali in the kitchen digging through the mini fridge to get a snack together for Ben.

“How about some cheese and crackers?” she turns to ask the boy with a block of pre cut cheese in her hand.

Ben nods and Ali lets out a sigh of relief that he is being so easy going for the moment. She grabs the box of crackers that Ash tosses her and arranges them on a plate with some cheese slices before placing it in front of Ben on the breakfast bar separating the tiny kitchenette and living room area after the keeper had hoisted him up onto the stool.

After sitting quietly for a few minutes watching Ben gobble down his snack, Ali finally decides to broach the subject. “Hey Benny, can we talk to you for a few minutes?” she asks, hoping he’ll be up for the talk before his nap. She’d like to let her mother know sooner rather than later if he’s going too.

“Mhmm,” he hums as he shoves another cheese sandwich into his mouth sending crumbs tumbling down onto his lap.

“We wanted to know how you like being at camp with us?” Ali asks.

Ben finishes munching on his snack and sets down the next cracker that he was about to stuff in his mouth. “I like it,” he says after a bit of thought. “I like being with you and Ashy. And I like playing with Toby and Kelley and Whit and them,” he adds with a little shrug.

“Well, were glad to hear that,” Ashlyn says with a smile as she scoots onto the school next to him. “We love having you here too,” she says as she kisses the top of his messy blonde hair.

“Listen, Ben,” Ali begins a bit more seriously, “you know how baby Ali hasn’t been sleeping very well? How she cries a lot during the night?” The boy nods but obviously has no idea where the conversation is heading so Ali continues. “Well my mom is going to take her back home to D.C. so that she can be a little more comfortable and get settled in there.”

“We all going back to D.C.?” he asks, his face scrunched up in confusion.

“Not exactly,” Ash interjects and wraps her arm around the back of his stool. “Ali and I have to stay here for a little bit more to finish up soccer camp. We were wondering if you wanted to stay here with us or head back to D.C. with your grandma and baby Ali. They’re going to leave later tonight.”

Ben thinks for a moment as he pushes the last piece of cheese around the plate with his finger. He looks up at meets Ali’s eyes, “So you guys stay here and baby Ali goes back home?” he asks for clarification to which Ali nods. “I have to stay with my baby sister,” he responds confidently without taking another moment to think about it. “Baby Ali needs me.”

“Aw Ben that’s so sweet of you,” Ash says and gives him a side hug. “You’re such a good big brother,” she adds which makes him beam with a big, proud smile.

“Thanks, Ashy,” he replies with a little yawn and sinks into her side.

Ash rotates on the stool and lifts him off his. “You ready for a nap, buddy?”

He sleepily nods. “Can we all cuddle?” he asks as he eyes slowly begin to close.

“Of course we can, handsome,” Ali replies and walks over to pull the covers down so Ash can scoot into their bed with Ben still in her arms. Once they’re settled in, Ali gently lifts little Ali from her crib and makes her way back to the bed. “One last family cuddle session before you head home. How does that sound?” she asks while slipping into the bed and resting the sleeping baby on her chest with Ashlyn’s tattooed arm underneath her head.

Ben has already fallen asleep, but Ash turns her head to the side and meets Ali’s gaze. “Sounds perfect to me,” she says before placing a sweet kiss on her lips and pulling the brunette in tighter.


	26. Proud of You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might not get another one out until Sunday, but I'll try. Driving up to NYC for the game tomorrow so my day will be crazy, but hopefully this update loaded with cuteness and happy things will keep you satisfied until then! Go USA :)

“I miss them so much,” Ali groans as they pull up to the last practice before the game.

Ashlyn looks over to her and smiles when she sees her girlfriend’s tiny pout. “I do too, babe,” she says while gathering up her bag, cleats and water bottle. “But at least you get to see them tomorrow. I have to wait even longer.” She sticks out her bottom lip which quickly turns into a smile when Ali rolls her eyes at her.

“Come on you big baby,” Ali says cheekily as she swats Ashlyn’s arm before yanking open the sliding door of the van.

They’re not even done putting their cleats on when the coaches yell for Ali. Ash gives her a reassuring nod as she scoots off the bench and jogs over to where Tony and Jill are waiting for her.

“Hey, Kriegs,” Jill begins with a warm smile.

“Hey!” Ali chirps back, though is a bit apprehensive as to why she was called over. Last time she had a meeting like this with the coaches they tore her apart on her performance against Ireland.

“How are you feeling?” Jill asks, immediately jumping into the details.

“Good. I’m feeling really good,” she nods and then waits for Jill to speak again.

“I can tell,” Jill finally breaks into a smile. “You’ve really stepped your game up this week.” Tony nods in agreement next to her.

“Thank you,” Ali replies quietly. She should be excited at the praise, but it reminds her what she traded for her increase in performance. Although she was getting more sleep and as a result her game had improved, she gave up naptime cuddles, adorable baby giggles and the lifting feeling of just being around her little cuties.

“We’re going to start you tomorrow against Mexico,” Jill says, right to the point. “You think you’re ready for that?”

Ali’s pearly white smile increases ten fold. “Of course I am. Thank you for this opportunity.”

“You’re the best outside back we have, Kriegs,” Tony finally interjects. “Just do what we all know you’re capable of.”

She nods and lets out a sigh of relief when they dismiss her to finish getting ready for the light pregame practice.

“What’d they want?” Ash asks quietly as she shifts her attention from her shoelaces up to Ali who has plopped down next to her on the bench.

She smiles brightly and whispers, “I got the start tomorrow!” in the keeper’s ear before turning to lace up her own boots.

Ash holds back in the excitement that’s bubbling inside of her, knowing Ali’s excitement meant another teammate was getting bad news. It was a thin line they had learned to walk when they started dating, leaving animated congratulations or celebrations for behind closed doors.   
“Proud of you,” Ash whispers back sincerely with a dimpled grin before she’s pulled off the bench by Hope’s yells that it’s time for the keepers to get warmed up.

______

“Woooo how about that 5-1 victory!!” Syd calls out as she storms through the locker room door.

“Mexico had no idea what hit them,” Kelley adds to the raucous as she sprays a water bottle around.

Lloyd walks in and shakes her head at the scene before her. “Alright, alright. Let’s all remember what the end goal is here!” she calls out and gives a slightly admonishing look to remind them that a 5-1 victory over Mexico means nothing in terms of getting them closer to winning a World Cup, but her face is soon filled with a smile when Kelley begins spraying water on the new Captain.

“Aw come on, Lloyd.” Hope comes up behind her and slings her arm around her best friend’s shoulder. “Let the youngins have some fun,” she says with a laugh as she shoots Kelley a warning glare when she approaches her with the water bottle. The squirrely defender backs away with a sheepish grin as she finds a new victim, Tobin, to pester.

“You guys coming to dinner or flying out tonight?” Pinoe asks as she slides up next to Ash and Ali who are changing after their showers.

“I fly out to Florida for my hometown event and Ali’s flying back to D.C. to get the kids from her mom,” Ash states while tugging her shirt over her head. “Why what’s up?”

Pinoe shrugs as she pulls off her socks and shin guards which are coated in sweat. “A few of us were going out for dinner and wanted to know if you wanted to join.”

Ali frowns a bit, thinking it would have been nice to catch up with everyone. Even though they sent the kids home with her mom, all of their free time was basically spent catching up on sleep and relaxing. “I wish we could have, but we have to head right to the airport,” she says sadly.

“I figured. It’s all good,” Pinoe says. “Are you bringing my little buddies to New York with you? I promised Ben a movie night,” she asks excitedly.

Ash and Ali look at each other and shrug. “Haven’t gotten that far yet,” Ash replies with a laugh. “I now know what the parenting books mean when they say take it one day at a time.”

“True that!” Pinoe chuckles and slaps Ash on the back. “Well, I’m off to shower! See you two next week.”

A few minutes after Pinoe slips away, Ash and Ali have finally gathered up all of their things.

“Ready?” Ali asks after scooping her bag up from the floor.

Ash pats her pockets and runs her fingers through her wet hair before slipping her snapback and glasses on. “Yep!” she says excitedly. It’s been a while since she’s been back home and even though it means being away from Ali and the kids longer, she’s excited to see her family and catch up with some old friends. She’s heard from quite a few that the surf at Cocoa Beach has been pretty good as well.

Ali checks her phone. “The cabs waiting for us. Got all your bags?” She looks around as does Ash and they take a mental count of what bags they had left and what they sent back with her mother.

“Think we got ‘em all,” Ash says confidently and then grabs her suitcase and backpack from the bench. “Let’s get you home to see our babies,” she says with a wide smile.

_______

 

“ALI!” comes a high pitched little voice from the kitchen, followed by the pitter patter of tiny feet. Ben comes whipping around the corner and leaps into her outstretched arms.

“Hey buddy!” she replies, just as excited and squeezes him tight to her chest.

He sinks his head into the crook of her neck and wraps his little arms around her neck. “I missed you,” he mumbles almost sadly.

“I missed you too handsome. So so much,” she whispers into his ear.

He pulls back with a smile at her words, but his face quickly scrunches up. “Where’s Ashy?” he asks with mild concern as he looks behind Ali to see if she’s coming through the door.

Ali sets him down, squatting so that she’s on his eye level. “Ashlyn had to go to her hometown in Florida for a little for an event.”

“Oh,” he replies, dropping his head in apparent sadness which makes Ali’s heart clinch. It’s been a short time, but she can already tell how much Ashlyn means to the little boy and vise versa.

“We’ll see her soon though, buddy,” she tries to console him. “Why don’t you tell me all about your fun week with grandma?”

His demeanor changes immediately. “It was awesome!” he shrieks loudly, causing Ali to nearly fall backwards.

Her mom comes around the corner with baby Ali in her arms as Ben continues to drabble on about all the fun things they did. “Sounds like he had a great time,” Ali says with a laugh as her mother hands off the baby.

“Oh he definitely did,” the older woman laughs. “He especially loved the natural history museum. Someone’s a big fan of dinosaurs.”

“Can we go again soon?” he asks, his eyes wide in excitement.

Ali shakes her head at how much energy he has, almost glad that she had the week off to relax a bit. A three year old is a lot to deal with, but a _hyper_ three year old is on a whole other level. “Of course Benny,” she replies with a smile. “Maybe later this week so Ash can join us?” she asks, to which he nods his head up and down dramatically.

As they settle onto the couch, Ben crawling into Ali’s lap though careful not to disturb his little sister, her mother gives her a proud smile. “You played great today,” she says while going to grab the remote to put on a show to keep Ben entertained.

“Yep you did!” Ben chimes in without peeling his eyes from the TV screen where SpongeBob was now playing.

Ali leans to the side so she can meet Ben’s big blue eyes. “Did you watch me play?”

“Mhmmmm,” he hums happily. “I watched you and Ashy on the tv!” He points to the screen hanging over the fireplace opposite them. “It was so cool!”

Ali laughs at his obvious amusement and looks to her mother. “I’m glad you guys got to watch it,” she says with a hint of nerves. She figured they would be watching, but still can’t help but be nervous. It seems like there’s so much more at stake, so much more to play for now.

“You were great sweetheart,” her mother replies warmly, knowing exactly where her daughter’s head is at. “He loved watching you.”

Ali smiles brightly and is about to reply when her phone starts buzzing. She awkwardly pulls it from her pocket and sees a familiar, smiling face lighting up her screen.

“Hey baby!” she says animatedly as Ashlyn’s face comes into focus.

“Is that my handsome little man?” comes Ash’s reply as Ben’s face pops into the screen.

“ASHY!” he shrieks and grabs the phone from Ali’s hand to bring it closer to his face. “I miss you!”

“Aw, I miss you too, Benny. Are you being good for grandma?”

“Mhmm,” he says proudly, puffing out his little chest a bit. “And a good big brother. I help tuck baby Ali in every night.”

Ali and Ash both smile widely at the statement and her mother nods to confirm it before getting up and slipping out of the room to let the family have some alone time.

“Tell me about your week?” Ash asks the little boy.

Ali settles into the couch and listens to the stories that Ben already told her. Something that would normally annoy her, listening to the same stories over again, was now music to her ears as she listened to Ben’s squeaky voice and Ashlyn’s animated, booming laughter fill the room. She could definitely get used to this.


	27. Some Things Never Change

“You coming out for a few drinks?” Ash asks, casting a glance over her shoulder where her good friend is cleaning up.

Jamie turns after setting some TWLOHA pamphlets down in a box sitting on the table. 

“You think I’d miss drinks with _the_ Ashlyn Harris, our little hometown hero?” he asks with a wide grin and jostles the keeper’s arm.

“You’re the hero here,” she says seriously, though there’s still a smile on her face. “Meet us at the Pier at 8?”

Jamie nods his head and turns back to packing up, which Ashlyn joins in on. “The Pier, huh?” he asks with a knowing smile, thinking back to some of the crazy nights that have played out there. “Reliving our crazy youth?”

Ash lifts her eyes to meet his, glinting with a slight hint of mischievousness to match. “A fun night out on the town never hurt anyone,” she replies with a wink. “Besides I fly out to D.C. tomorrow night so I have to get my night of debauchery in.”

“You’ve come to the right place then, my friend,” he replies earnestly and pats her shoulder. “Satellite Beach will make sure to show you a good time before we send you off to battle,” he adds with a crooked grin.

______

 

“Ali can we Facetime Ashy?” Ben asks as he shovels another forkful of pasta into his mouth.

Ali looks down at the boy with a slight frown, “Don’t talk with your mouth full, Benjamin.” After the mild chastisement which earns a nod from the boy, her face softens. “We’ll try to call her after we get you cleaned up and ready for bed okay?” She can see Ben’s mood instantly pick up as he begins to plow through his dinner, hoping to get to talk to the keeper sooner.

“Done!” he squeaks which earns a laugh from Ali and her mother who is staying in the guest bedroom to help out. Now that Ali has realized how much she needed the sleep to keep up her game, her mother has been getting up with little Ali during the night so she can get her proper rest. She feels like she’s taking advantage of the older woman, but knows her mother loves being able to help and spend time with the kids so she pushes her guilt aside.

“Alright let’s get you into the bath,” she says as she pushes her own plate forward and slides her chair back. As Ben takes off running to the bathroom, she casts a glance back to her mom, “Can you just set the dishes in the sink and I’ll clean them after we call Ash?”

Her mother nods and turns back to trying to get little Ali to take the spoon of blended carrots she’s trying to feed her.

Half an hour later, Ali has Ben cleaned up and in his dinosaur pajamas and they settle into his twin bed. She pulls out her phone which reads 7:30 pm and quickly clicks on Ashlyn's contact to Facetime her.

A few rings in, she finally picks up and although the background is a bit of a blur as she moves to another room, Ali can make out a sea of people and several bottles of alcohol spread across the table.

“Hey baby!” Ash says cheerily, though slightly slurred as she sits down on a bed in a semi-lit room.

Ali smiles back at her, taking in her features for a moment. “Hey you. I’ve got someone here that want to talk to you before bed,” she says as she hands the phone off to Ben.

“Hey buddy!” Ash says, her voice conveying her excitement to see him.

“ASHY!” he shrieks and then quickly begins blabbering about his day before asking Ash to tell him a bedtime story.

She sighs and Ali can see her look at the clock sitting on the bed next to her, but she begins telling a story nonetheless. Ali can tell she rushes through it and gets a slight feeling of anger bubble up in her that Ash is trying to get off the phone with them so she can party with her friends. After a few minutes though, Ben is asleep and Ash cuts the story off. The brunette slips out of bed and makes her way to their own room so she can have some privacy since her mother is in the living room with little Ali.

“Having fun?” she asks with a bit more bite than intended.

Ash nods and takes a sip of a beer she had been holding off screen when she was talking with Ben. “Yeah some of us are going out tonight. They’re having a send off party for me at the Pier, so to speak,” she says with a wide, dimpled grin.

“I see,” Ali says. She feels bad for being upset, knowing Ash deserves a fun night out, but still feels a bit jealous that she isn’t being afforded the same chance.

Ash’s brow furrows a bit. “Is that okay with you?”

The question for some reason, or maybe it's the tone in which it's asked bothers Ali. “Why would you think you need permission?” she responds, her tone a bit irritated. It’s been a long day and she’s taking it out on Ash, but in the back of her mind are the stories of wild mischievousness from the Pier that Ashlyn had told her before they started dating.

“Well you don’t seem particularly thrilled about it,” the blonde offers as she downs the rest of her drink just for show. She knows she shouldn’t push Ali’s buttons, but is a few too many drinks in to think logically at the moment.

“I just know how you get with your friends, especially at the Pier,” Ali says evenly. She tries to reign in some of her snarkiness to avoid it turning into a real argument. “Just have fun, Ash. Text me when you get in tonight if you remember, okay?”

Ash sighs. “Yeah sure.” Her eyes look off into the distance as she hears someone call her name. Turning back to the screen she adds, “Gotta go. Give baby Ali a kiss goodnight for me. Love you,” she says and then ends the call before waiting for a response.

Ali sits there for a few moments staring at the screen and wondering what the hell had just happened. She tries to call Ash back quickly to apologize, but the call goes unanswered.

____

 

“Let’s go, Harris!” Jess bangs on the door as Ash crams her phone into her back pocket after ending the call with Ali.

“Coming!” she yells and then walks out into the main hallway where everyone has gathered to pile into the cabs.

After a short taxi ride they pull up at the Pier and Ash’s eyes go wide when she realizes the place is completely packed with people spilling out onto the back porch and parking lot. A quick glance up to the main sign lets her know why. It reads, ‘Help us send Ashlyn Harris off to the WWC 5/19’ and she sees a flyer nailed to the light post out front advertising two for one drink specials on all domestic beers in honor of the USA player. Her lips curl into a beaming smile as she’s pushed inside by her friends. _Satellite Beach is **definitely** going to show me a good time tonight._

______

 

“Everything alright, honey?” Deb asks as she shifts her eyes from the TV when she sees movement coming down the hall out of the corner of her eyes.

Ali simply nods and kisses little Ali on the head before heading to the kitchen. She smiles when she sees all the dishes cleaned and put away even though she told her mother she would take care of it. “Thanks for doing the dishes,” she says when she wanders back into the living room and plops down on the couch next to her mom.

“It’s no problem,” she says through a warm smile. “I know how long Ashlyn’s bedtime stories for Ben can last so I figured I’d have time to get them done.”

The mention of Ashlyn makes Ali flinch the tiniest bit when she remembers how short she was on the phone with Ben and though she thinks she covers it well, her mother easily picks up on it.

“You sure everything is fine?” she asks, pushing a bit for an answer.

Ali nods, but then adds, “Yeah, Ash was just a bit short on the phone earlier since she was partying with friends. I know there’s no reason for it, but it kind of bothered me.”

“Oh, Alex,” her mother replies and shakes her head. “I can understand where you’re coming from, but Ashlyn has been by your side since day one. The girl deserves a night out with her friends!” Deb reasons.

“That’s the thing, I know!” Ali replies and throws her hands up in the air. “I know she does, but it still bothers me for some reason,” she confesses. “I’m going crazy,” she groans, slapping her hands over her face.

Her mother just laughs. “It’s called love and parenting. It never gets easier so welcome to the big leagues,” she chuckles.

“Thanks mom,” Ali mumbles and then turns her attention to the TV, feeling a bit better after talking it out. She figures she'll set her phone volume on loud and just talk to her when she gets in that night.

________

 

Ash is bellied up to the bar with Jess on one side as she sips slowly on a beer, having slowed down since getting there so she can last the whole night, when she feels someone bump her hip. She looks to her right and her eyes go wide as she sets down her drink quickly before being pulled into a hug.

“Well look who it is. Ashlyn Harris in the flesh,” the brunette says with a wink as she signals at the bartender.

“Hey, Natalia,” she says with a sideways smile. “It’s been a while,” she adds as she looks the girl over briefly, noting her low cut shorts and lace crop top that accentuates her fit, tanned body quite nicely. 

She nods and grabs the two shots the bartender brings back. “Over six years,” she says and then pushes a shot towards Ashlyn while picking her own up. “Can you still shoot Tequila like a champ?” she asks with a raised eyebrow.

Ash smiles, never backing down from a challenge and clinks their glasses together before throwing the shot back.

“Some things never change,” the other woman says with a sexy smile as she sets her class down and gently cups Ashlyn’s bicep.

Knowing exactly what is going through Natalia’s mind, Ash retracts her arm a bit. “And some things do change,” she says with a nod before grabbing her drink and making her way over to the table where some of her other friends were posted up. “Some party, huh?” she asks with a devious grin as she looks around her where most of the ladies are either scantily clad or rocking ‘Harris’ jerseys. She just hopes the photographers also get pictures of the normally dressed women and the men as well, thinking Ali might liken the night to something rivaling a bachelorette party by the looks of it.

Jamie shakes his head as he follows her eyes. “The girls always want a piece of Ashlyn Harris," he says with an eye roll. "You broke a lot of hearts when you settled down with Ali,” he adds with a laugh. “Was that Natalia I saw over there?” he nods towards the bar.

Ashlyn looks up and wishes she hadn’t when she meets her piercing emerald eyes. “Yup,” she replies and quickly diverts her gaze.

“Wow. How long has it been?”

“We broke up about six months before Ali and I got together. So…it’s been a long fucking time,” she chuckles.

Jamie watches as the brunette by the bar practically undresses Ashlyn with her eyes. “Looks like she wants to make up for lost time. Better not get yourself in any trouble tonight, Harris. I don't want to have to tell Ali I had to drag you out of here by your ear!”

Ashlyn groans and shakes her head disbelievingly while Jamie rustles her shoulder jokingly. “Let’s just hope she keeps her distance for the rest of the night.”

Unfortunately for Ashlyn, she does not keep her distance. Having been in their group of friends growing up, Natalia seemingly managed to weasel her way into the group that was posted up at the corner table. Though she was sitting next to Ashlyn, she wasn’t outright trying anything, but all of Ash’s friends gave her knowing looks whenever Natalia would laugh extra loud at her joke or wink at her or touch her shoulder when she was animatedly telling a story.

It isn’t until Ashlyn is heads to the outdoor patio to catch some air and enjoy a moment of quiet, with no one to act as a bodyguard, that she gets cornered by the beautiful brunette. “You excited about the World Cup?” she asks as she leans her back against the railing Ashlyn has her arms resting on, starting an innocent conversation that Ashlyn knows is anything but.

“Very much so,” Ash says before taking a sip of her beer. She’s passed the tipsy point long ago and is enjoying her last beer before most likely switching to water. “I’ll miss Florida though. I miss waking up and just listening to the waves crashing against the shore and the smell of the salty air.”

“Florida will miss you too,” she says and scoots a bit closer. “ _I_ miss you.” She snakes her arm around Ashlyn and leans in a bit. 

Even with the alcohol coursing through her veins and her body wanting some release after a frustrating few weeks, she quickly withdraws herself, putting a few feet in between them. “Please stop,” she asks in a polite yet firm tone, angry now at herself for stepping outside to grab a moment of peace. 

“You don’t miss me?” she asks a bit sadly, trying to get the ever chivalrous blonde to confess.

Ash shakes her head. “I’m happy, Natalia. I’m beyond happy with Ali,” she answers honestly, though it’s slurred.

“You’re really happy being saddled with two kids that aren’t even yours?” she asks with a skeptical tone and raised eyebrow. Ash's eyes go wide until she remembers all of the media coverage on it lately. Natalia takes Ashlyn’s moment of silence as a signal to proceed. “How’s your sex life been with a newborn baby in the mix? You look a little bit tense.” Her smile curls up and she takes another step towards Ashlyn. “I can help with that,” she says with a wink. “You do remember what I can do to your body, right?” she purrs sexily and finally closes the gap, grazing her hand up Ashlyn’s arm until it comes to rest on her bicep.


	28. Do Tell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Probably not too many chapters left in this one. Let me know if there's anything you want to see! Thanks for sticking with me :)

“Thanks,” says Ash with a tired smile as she takes the tray her brother hands her.

He nods and plops down in the seat next to her, across from a few of her friends. “No problem,” he says as he sets down a cup of coffee for her as well. “You look a little tired. Rough night?” he asks with a chuckle.

Ash looks up from the Bacon, Egg and Cheese she’s unwrapping and shoots him an indignant glare.

“You could say that,” Jess interjects with a laugh. “I think the lack of sleep combined with a few drinks made her a bit sleepy last night! Ash is lucky Jamie stuck around because there’s no way we would have been able to carry her out of that place,” she says with a giggle while pointing between her and Julie. 

With an eye roll Ash bites into her breakfast sandwich, but nearly spits it out when Julie adds, “I think there’s plenty of ladies that would have helped her out though, she just wouldn’t have ended up in her own bed!”

Chris’s eyes go wide at the statement. Ash has never been the player type, but he does know that his sister has an aura that seems to draw girls to her in masses. “Really now?” he asks with a raised eyebrow over the brim of his coffee cup.

Ash groans and puts her sandwich down. “Natalia was out in full force last night,” she says, knowing he would know exactly how her domineering ex would usually never take no for an answer.

“Nothing happened right?”

 

_“You do remember what I can do to your body, right?” she purrs sexily and finally closes the gap, grazing her hand up Ashlyn’s arm until it comes to rest on her bicep._

_The second Natalia makes contact with her arm and begins to lean in, Ashlyn’s foggy mind clears. “Stop,” she says firmly, this time void of any politeness as she yanks her arm back. “I love Ali and those kids with every fiber of my being. I’m happier than I’ve ever been with you, or with anyone else for that matter,” she states confidently and then turns to head back into the bar, leaving a slack jawed Natalia standing on the porch alone._

 

“No,” she says curtly and then picks her sandwich up again. For a moment Ash feels a pang of hurt that her brother would suggest she would ever be unfaithful to Ali, but remembers the side of Natalia that Chris had seen when they had briefly dated. “Not that she didn’t try though,” she adds before taking a bite.

Chris shakes his head as he begins scrolling through his phone. “Jesus, Ash. Could these girls have any less clothes on?” he asks when a link to an article about her send-off party last night shows up on his Twitter feed.

“Yeah, Ali was not too happy about that,” she manages around a mouthful of food.

Jess sets her cup down and glances up at her. “Oh that sounds like a fun story. I’m guessing you talked to her this morning?”

Ash turns a bit red and nods. “Oh yes. I got a wakeup call at 8am sharp from a not so happy Alexandra Krieger,” she says with a slight chuckle.

Chris sets his phone down and looks at her expectantly, his interest piqued. “Do tell,” he urges.

“Let’s just say she saw from the pictures that I had a good time…”

 

_“Hello?”_

_“I see someone had fun last night,” comes a slightly irritated voice from the other end of the line._

_“Alex?” Ash replies in a groggy, hoarse voice, suddenly acutely aware of her partying and more so lack of sleep last night when she feels a slight headache and stinging eyes._

_“Yes, Ashlyn.”_

_She says nothing else and Ash knows she may have stepped in it judging by the contrite tone she's using. “How was your night?” Ash asks in a very weak attempt to change the conversation._

_“Really? Do you not remember talking to me last night when you got in?”_

Shit. _Ashlyn does not actually remember that and tries to clear the fogginess from her head so that she can think back to the conversation. She knows she didn’t do anything bad last night, but when she has some drinks she has the propensity to talk a bit too much and a bit tactlessly. In her clouded, pain filled state, she mumbles, “I promise nothing happened with her!”_

Wrong answer. _“Um, what?”_

_Ash’s eyes go wide when she realizes she made it even worse, but quickly clamp shut when the light sears into them. “I’m not going to lie to you, Alex. Natalia was there and followed me outside and tried to kiss me. I pulled away as soon as she leaned in, told her I loved you and the kids with every ounce of me and left her standing out there. I’m so sorry babe, but I swear nothing happened.”_

_Ali can hear the nervousness evident in Ashlyn’s tired, hoarse voice and thinks it’s cute that the keeper is so worried. She trusts her implicitly, but does appreciate the honesty. “Ash, I’m used to people hitting on you,” she says with a chuckle, which immediately lifts the heaviness that had settled in the keeper’s chest. “Most of them don’t think we’re actually together and even do it in front of me,” she adds, thinking back to many times they’ve gone out when people have flirted with her girlfriend right in front of her. “I’m not worried about some ex-girlfriend of yours from six years ago.”_

_“Then…then what?” she asks, momentarily relieved, but now at a loss for why Ali would be upset with her._

_Ali sighs. “Ash, there’s just a few pictures out there and you look…you look a little tipsy and you’re just surrounded by girls that think it’s okay to leave the house with almost no clothes on. You just have to be careful with how that comes across. We’re on the eve of the World Cup, you know?”_

_Ashlyn rubs her eyes with her palms. Ali’s words plus the slight aching between her eyes lets her know that she really did let loose a little bit too much the previous night. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I guess I just got a bit caught up in it all and had some steam to let off, you know?”_

_“I know baby,” Ali responds quietly, understanding exactly where the keeper is coming from. “You deserved a fun night out. I just worry about you is all,” she says with a sigh. “And I wish I could have been there with you.”_

_“I wish you were here too. And the kids. I miss you three so much.”_

_Ali takes in a deep breath and thinks she’ll never grow tired of hearing Ash talk about them as a family. “Well lucky for you, you get to see us later tonight!” she says a bit too perkily for Ash’s liking._

_She sucks in a sharp breath and grimaces at the high pitched confession. “Yeah…hey, Alex?”_

_“Yeah, Ash?”_

_“I love you and miss you and all, but I didn’t get to bed until like after 4. Think I can call you later when I’ve gotten some more sleep and finished up my workout for the day?”_

_Ali chuckles softly and can hear the pain in her voice. “Of course. I love you.”_

_“Love you too.”_

 

“Well at least she wasn’t too mad,” Chris muses as he finishes up his cup of coffee.  
“But I’m guessing I shouldn’t tag you in these pictures the Pier just put up on Facebook?” he asks with a devious smile.

“Great,” Ashlyn groans and drops her head to the table. “Are they that bad?” she mumbles into the wood.

"You don't look wasted or anything. Just that you're having a good time," he says casually as he scrolls through the few pics that the bar added to their page. Chris scrolls through the last of the pictures and then clicks it off when he gets to one of two girls, one in a _very_ tight fitting Harris jersey, the other in a crop top and tiny white shorts, trying to pull Ash onto the dance floor. She had politely declined at the time, but it still didn’t look good from a PR standpoint. “Let’s just not worry about the pictures,” he says and shoots her a sympathetic grin.

Ash lifts her head and shakes it. “I’m a mess.”

Jess glances over at her. “I think you’re anything but, Ash. What you’re doing is amazing. A few pictures of you having a fun night out doesn’t change that. Ali and those kids love you and that’s all that matters,” she states matter of fact.

Chris nods and smiles down at her. “Everyone in Satellite is proud of you, Ash. You’re going to the World Cup, have an amazing, beautiful woman by your side and stepped up to the plate to start your family without even hesitating.”

Ash begins blushing a bit. “Thanks guys. I’m just doing my best not to screw it all up!” she jokes, trying to inject some levity into the conversation that was growing a bit heavy.

“You’ll be fine!” Julie interjects. “So I know they were with her mom last week and with Ali now, but are you taking them to Canada with you?”

Ash sits back in her seat and sets her chin on her fingers. “We haven’t gotten that far yet. I think we probably will. Ben would be so sad if we left him behind, but he won’t leave little Ali. He’s like the most adorable big brother, always giving her kisses and calling her his ‘little princess’. It’s seriously the cutest thing in the world,” she says as everyone at the table awes. “So I think we’ll probably get a room for Deb. I know Ken is coming up and Kyle too and maybe even my mom so I think we’ll be able to work it all out between all of us.”

Jess nods. “That’s good. How are you feeling about it all? Is it what you expected?”

Ashlyn bites the inside of her cheek as she thinks on it. “Yeah, I think it is. Maybe even better though. I didn’t think I’d bond with them so fast. I mean I knew I would love them, but I can’t…I can’t even explain how happy it makes me when Ben tells me he loves me, or asks to cuddle or even just get’s excited to talk on the phone with me. It’s crazy,” she finishes, and quickly wipes the corner of her eye before a stray tear can spill.

Chris just stares at her, disbelieving, but with a goofy proud grin. “Who are you and what did you do with my tough, badass, tattooed sister?”

“Oh shut it,” she laughs and punches him in the arm. “You’re telling me that little face wouldn’t melt your heart too?” she asks as she holds up her phone which has a lock screen picture of her, Ben, Ali and little Ali on the beach when they were back in California for camp. Ali is holding the baby with a nose crinkling grin, wisps of her hair lightly blowing in the wind, while Ash has Ben on her hip and they’re both flexing opposite arms with bright smiles.

Everyone at the table smiles at the picture of the little family. “That’s adorable,” Jess says. 

“What a cute little family.”

“Yep,” Ash flashes a proud, dimpled grin as she looks down at the picture. “That’s my crazy little family.”


	29. Going to the World Cup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally heading to Canada!!

“We’re going to the World Cup. We’re going to the World Cup,” Ben sings as he skips through the airport towards baggage claim, Ali chasing right behind him to make sure he doesn’t get lost in the crowd.

“Who taught him that one?” Abby asks with a wide grin as she sees Ben truck on by them.

Ash shrugs as best she can with baby Ali in her arms. “He may or may not have picked that up from me singing while I was packing.”

“You’re too much, Harris,” Abby says with a shake of her head.

Ashlyn shifts baby Ali in her arms so she can readjust the strap of her back pack. “Hey I’m just glad we’re all here,” she replies honestly. 

It wasn’t easy, there were times throughout camp and World Cup prep where they debated and argued and didn’t see eye to eye. There were sleepless nights where Ash almost bought a plane ticket home or bad practices that after Ali would take extra long showers just so she could cry without Ben or Ashlyn seeing her. A few times they missed being away from them so much that they almost both packed it up, only to get a stern lecture from Deb that they weren’t quitters and would regret it forever. No, it wasn’t easy, but in the end, they had made it.

Abby can sense the keeper deep in thought and places a hand gently on her shoulder. “I’m proud of you two,” the veteran says sincerely. “I don’t know many couples that could have handled what you two did. Those are two lucky kids.”

Ash looks ahead and sees that Ali has finally caught Ben as he slides to a halt before the luggage belt. “Thanks, Abs. Means a lot coming from you.”

Abby nods and then sidles up next to Ali and Ben by the conveyor belt. “You excited to wave to that big crowd out there?” Abby asks, squatting down so she’s eye level with Ben.

The small boy looks out through the glass doors of the airport and sees the large crowd, clad in red, white and blue with signs, scarves and noise makers surrounding the path to their bus. They’re already chanting and screaming welcomes to the players inside and his eyes light up. “Wow!” he says excitedly, but Ash grabs his hand before he takes off towards them.

“If you’re good while we wait for our bags I’ll let you ride on my shoulders,” she barters with the little boy. They’ve come to find that he loves the spotlight and chums up the crowd and media whenever he can, a stark difference to the shy, nervous boy that had come into their lives just over a month ago.

Ben thinks on it for a moment, but realizes he isn’t getting out of the blonde’s grasp anyways. “Okay,” he says quietly and turns his attention back to the belt as bags start coming around.

Ali squats down next to him and they practice his colors as she points to the bags and he names off the correct color of it. He struggles with a few, but for the most part is pleased with himself when Ali and even HAO and Syd who eventually join in, clap for him every time he gets one right.

Pleased with herself for the quick thinking to keep Ben occupied, Ali glances up at Ashlyn with a smirk and the keeper just shakes her head. Ali had definitely fallen into the prepared, quick-thinking mom role quite easy. Ash was amazed how many times Ali had saved the day with a pack of wet-wipes she stuck into a bag, or the extra binky she would hand Ash from her purse when they would lose the other one. She couldn’t even count the number of times Ali had cleaned up a mess, literally and figuratively, by being overly prepared.

Finally, their bags come around and Ali pulls them off with Ben’s counterproductive help. Once they have them all, Ash hands off little Ali to her girlfriend and hoists Ben up onto her shoulders. “Ready, bud?” she asks, looking up at his little face that’s now hanging over her head peering down.

“READY, ASHY!” he shrieks, causing several players around them to shake their heads and laugh.

“Here, Ben,” Arod says and pulls the slightly oversized hat off of a sleeping Ryan’s head. She stands on her tippy toes and places the American flag hat on top of his head. “Go get ‘em!” she adds and winks at Ash who mouths a ‘thank you’ after turning the hat so it's on him backwards like hers is as she turns and follows the rest of the team out.

Once they’re outside, the madness ensues. The entire crowd is chanting ‘USA! USA! USA!’ as they walk the thirty or so feet from the exit towards their bus. The players wave and smile and those that have a free hand take time to sign some autographs. Ash and Ali don’t stop, their hands are full with bags and children, but their wide grins say it all as they take in their surroundings. From atop Ashlyn’s shoulders she can hear Ben joining in on the chant and her smile grows even larger. Once they set their bags down, Ash and Ali show a knowing glance as they look to each other and then back to the crowd who are calling for them.

“Want to give them what they want?” Ali asks with a mischievous grin.

Ash looks around to the other players who have all dropped their bags and are now taking the time to interact with and thank the fans for the warm welcome in Winnipeg. 

“Sure why not,” she says with a shrug and then wraps her arm around Ali as they pose for a few candid photos as a family. “That should keep ‘em happy for a bit,” Ash whispers in her ear. “I’m going to take Ben around and sign some autographs. Meet you in the bus?”

Ali nods, knowing it’s too loud and boisterous of a crowd to bring the baby around the fence line. Usually she is the last one out signing autographs, but she’s happy to let the keeper have her time in the sun. “Sure! Just don’t let this handsome man get too rowdy,” she says with a chuckle and looks up to Ben who is pumping his little fists in the air.

Ash nods and then lifts Ben off her shoulders and pulls him onto her hip to hold him more securely as she makes her way over to the crowd. She signs autographs for about fifteen minutes, even letting Ben scribble on a few when fans ask, before the staff comes around and shoos them all back onto the bus. They have a dinner scheduled and with the media circus, they’re already running a bit late.

Ash slips into her seat on the bus next to Ali who is rocking the baby in her arms. “Wow she might just be the lightest sleeper ever if she couldn’t sleep through that crowd,” Ash jokes which earns her a swift elbow jab to the ribs from her girlfriend.

“Not everyone can sleep like a rock, Harris,” Ali teasingly chides as she sits back in her seat a bit.

Ash shrugs with a goofy grin. “What can I say? It’s a gift.”

“Mhm. Thankfully my mom is here so we can hopefully continue to get some sleep,” Ali says as she recalls her phone call with her mother before the flight.

“She’s there already? Her flight got in okay?”

Ali nods and begins digging through her carry-on for little Ali’s blankie. “Yeah, she got there a couple hours ago. My dad and Kyle won’t get in until the Sunday before our first game so she’s solo on baby duty until then.”

“I don’t know what we’d do without that woman,” Ash says profoundly. She means it on so many different levels. Not only had she stepped up as a grandmother to help them out, but she was always a driving force behind both women, supporting them unconditionally and encouraging them on and off the field since before they even started dating. Ashlyn had easily fallen into the Krieger family's graces, charming Deb and Ken who knew just from the way she looked at Ali when they were still just friends that the keeper loved their daughter wholeheartedly.

Ali senses there’s deeper meaning to the statement and gives Ash a warm smile. “I don’t know what I’d do without you,” she whispers as everyone around them settles into their seats.

Ash replies with a goofy, dimpled grin of her own. “Right back at ya Miss Krieger. Right back at ya.”

After a short bus ride, they pull up at the hotel. There’s considerably less fans, but more media waiting for them. Jill calls out a few players names and asks them to address the media briefly and they nod. Ali and Ash thankfully weren’t chosen, but they know it’s only a matter of time considering their recent announcement before they’re in front of the microphone. They can only hope the questions stay relatively soccer related. 

With a little help from some teammates, Ali and Ash get Ben, little Ali and all of their luggage up to their room. After settling in and leaving Ben and little Ali with Deb, the women quickly get dressed and head down to the lobby where everyone is meeting for dinner. They are the last ones down and get a bit confused when the team looks at them with excited, giddy smirks.

“Uhhh are we missing something?” Ash asks and looks around for some sort of context clue to describe their expressions.

Arod skips out from the middle of the group with a gift bag in her hands. “We got you guys something,” she says with a beaming smile.  
Ali and Ash look to each other with puzzled expressions for a moment before Ash reaches out and takes the shiny blue bag from the tiny blonde’s outstretched hand. Ali looks inside and pushes some of the red, white and blue tissue paper away before pulling out the contents.

“Oh my god this is precious!” she squeals while the corners of her eyes begin to well up with happy tears.

“We didn’t want to start any fights so we improvised,” Rampone says sweetly as she steps towards them along with the other girls who all swarm the new moms.

Her and Ash smile widely as they look at the jerseys the girls had presented them with. Little Ali's was a little jersey with half of a blue ‘KRIEGER’ jersey on the left side and the other half a black ‘HARRIS’ keeper jersey. Ben had a similar one, but the ‘HARRIS’ was on the left side of the jersey and ‘KRIEGER’ was on the right.

“This is amazing,” Ali said with her hand covering her mouth. “You guys are amazing,” she adds, finally lifting her watery gaze to meet her teammates faces.

“We can’t have the newest members of U.S. Soccer looking anything but fresh at the first game!” Pinoe interjects as she throws her arm around Ashlyn’s shoulder. “We mixed up the order of the names so we only had to get one new one when you guys get married,” she further teased. “There’s several bets going on whether it’ll be Krieger-Harris or Harris-Krieger.” Ali further rolls her eyes when Pinoe loudly whispers into a wide-eyed Ashlyn’s ear, “My money is on Krieger-Harris, so work with me and I’ll split the cash.”

“Funny, Pinoe. You’re going to have to wait a while to cash in on that one anyways,” she says cheekily before turning to thank the rest of the girls for the thoughtful gift.

Ash and Pinoe wait for Ali to turn her back to them before sharing a knowing, mischievous look.


	30. The Feeling is Mutual

“They’re very quick up top. They might not move the ball as fast as Australia did, but they’ve got deadly speed in their strikers. We need to stay on their shoulders and cut off those passing lanes to mess with their timing. We’re going with Krieger and O’Hara as outside backs tomorrow so we can match their speed. They play high and wide so we’ll need to keep a high line as well. Any questions there?” she asks as she shifts her eyes back to the PowerPoint screen where they’re casting game footage of the Nigeria team. 

The intently focused U.S. players shake their heads in response. 

“Alright well I think we’re done for this afternoon. Take the rest of the afternoon to relax and unwind. Team dinner is at 6:30 pm and we’ll meet in the lobby at 6. Carli will send out a text with whatever you’re all wearing for dinner. Enjoy the day, but let’s stay focused ladies! A 2-0 win over Australia was a great start, but let’s show the world we still haven’t peaked yet.”

Carli stands up from her chair and walks towards the center of the room. “Bring it in ladies.” They all stand and convene around Carli who gives Abby a look. Though Carli was named Captain for the World Cup, Abby still has that aura that pumps everyone up.

“Alright, USA on three! One, two, three…”

A loud chorus of ‘USA’ rings through the room as the coaches begin packing up the materials from the meeting. Jill calls for Kelley to stay and chat for a few minutes, but everyone else begins to filter out of the room.

Ashlyn is walking with Pinoe through the lobby and in a deep conversation when she feels someone bump her hip. She turns and the corners of her mouth tug up into a smile when she sees Ali walking next to her. “Hey! What are your plans for today?” she asks, meeting Ali’s eyes.

Ali shrugs. “Alex and Syd and want to go shopping, but I kind of just want to hang out with you,” she says almost shyly.

“Uhh…well…” Ash stumbles a bit until Pinoe comes to her rescue.

She leans past Ash so she can see Ali. “Sorry, Kriegs, but I’m stealing your woman for a bit this afternoon. Whit and Tobin and I have some business to take care of with her. I’ll have her back by dinner though,” she adds nonchalantly with a devious wink.

Ali eyes them both with a skeptical look. As much as she wants to protest, these sketchy outings Ash goes on usually end up being for some benefit to her. With a raised eyebrow she nods. “Rightttt,” she hums with a hint of sarcasm. “Well are you taking the kids on your sketchy adventure or do I need to take them shopping with me?”

Ash looks to Pinoe who just shrugs. “I’ll take them,” she says as she turns back to Ali. “Have a fun day shopping, Princess. And remember that whatever you buy, we, actually I, have to carry home.”

Ali’s face curls into a wide, mischievous smile. “Hmmmm,” she taps her chin appearing to be deep in thought. “I’ll keep that in mind. I’ve heard they have this trendy sports store here and I’ve been looking for a new set of dumbbells.”

Ashlyn’s eyes go wide until she realizes her girlfriend is joking, she hopes she is at least. “Ali,” she warns, her eyes narrowing a bit.

Pinoe just laughs, knowing they’re about to get into it in typical Ali and Ash fashion.

“What?” Ali asks, feigning innocence.

Ashlyn decides to go for the obviously manipulating approach. “I would just hate it if the dumbbells didn’t fit in the bag and we had to leave some of your shoes here to make room.”

Ali’s face hardens. “You wouldn’t dare,” she challenges in a way that makes Ashlyn almost want to run for cover. Almost.

“Oh I would,” Ash replies sassily, stepping into the gap between them to close the distance a bit.

Ali takes Ashlyn at her word, it wouldn’t be the first time the keeper had pulled something like this. She recalls some very heated discussions when it came time to do some spring cleaning, discussions that ended in Ali’s closet being a bit lighter much against her will, though Ashlyn’s found a similar fate as well. “Fine. I’ll pass on the weight set,” she concedes, “for now.”

Ashlyn and Pinoe roll their eyes at the feisty defender. “Have fun, babe,” she says and leans to place a kiss on Ali’s lips. “I’ll grab the kids from your parents before I head out,” she adds.

Just then, Syd and Alex come up behind them. “Please tell me we get to bring little Ali and Ben on our shopping trip!” Alex whines and crosses her hands like she’s fake begging.

Ali laughs at the forward. She knows that since getting married the young U.S. striker has had a bit of baby fever and has been dying to play with baby Ali and Ben every chance she gets. “Well Ash was going to take her and Ben when she went out with Pinoe, Whit and Tobin.”

Syd pretend gags which earns her a light punch and laugh from Pinoe.

“Pleaseee can we take her,” Alex continues to beg and Syd looks back at Ash with a hopeful smile as well.

Ali and Ash share a look and small smile. 

“Why don’t you take little Ali out for your girl's day and Ben can come hang out with the boys,” Ash offers with a smirk.

“Not both?” Alex pouts a bit.

Ashlyn panics a bit, but quickly regains her composure. “We uh…we need Ben.”

Ali eyes her suspiciously before shrugging. “Fine. Sorry Alex, little Ali is all you get today,” she says with a low chuckle.

Alex concedes and jumps on Ash in a tight hug. “I’ll take whatever babies I can get! Meet you down here in ten,” Alex says as she skips away towards the elevator.

“Let’s just hope she holds off on having her own until after the Olympics next year,” Tobin jokes as she saunters up to the group with Whitney in tow.

Ali laughs knowingly, since she’s been privy to Alex gushing over having a baby ever since little Ali joined their family. “I think it might kill her, but she’s planning on waiting.”

“Good,” a few players breathed out a sigh of relief. It was a cruel reality of being a female athlete, planning babies around major tournaments, but they had all accepted it and most handled it quite well. In between cycles there were always new U.S. Soccer babies being added to the mix. It definitely kept things interesting, that much was sure.

“Wanna head up and change?” Ali asks, casting a sideways glance to Syd who nods in reply. “See you later babe,” Ali says and leans in with a gentle hand on Ashlyn’s chest to place a quick peck on Ashlyn’s cheek. “Stay out of trouble you four!” she calls over her shoulder with a laugh as her and Syd head towards the elevator.

“Ready for this?” Whit asks with a raised eyebrow as she watches Ashlyn watch Ali walk away with a goofy smile.

It takes Ash a moment to realize Whit is even talking to her, but she turns and nods. “Ready as I’ll ever be! Let’s go grab the little man from Papa Kriegs and head out.”

The rest of the group falls in line behind Ashlyn as she leads them down the hall to Ali’s dad’s room. As nervous as she was, she had never been more excited about a single thing in her life.

 

_______

 

“Where’s the little Princess?” Alex asks as she burst into Deb’s room behind Ali.

Deb laughs and welcomes the girls in, asking how their light pre-game training session went that morning and how they’re feeling about the game against Nigeria the next day. 

Ali and Syd chat up Deb while Alex goes over to little Ali’s crib and smiles down at her. 

“Ready to go shopping with us little Ali?” she coos down at the baby who giggles up at her.

Ali smiles and thinks that the sound of her giggling baby will never get old. “Want to grab her and we can get going, Lex? There’s so much shopping and so little time!” she says with a devious smile.

Deb rolls her eyes at her daughter. “I’m surprised Ashlyn is letting you go shopping on your own,” she admits.

“Oh please. That girl has enough flannels and button ups in her closet to clothe an army! And don’t get me started on the snapback collection.”

“Does it rival your shoe collection?” Syd teases knowingly. She’s seen Ali’s closet many times -often swapping shoes with the defender- and definitely appreciates her taste.

Ali shrugs in response, “I suppose. Now let’s get going!”

 

_______

 

“That one!” Ben says, his crystal blue eyes lighting up as his cheeks are soon replaced by a huge smile.

Ashlyn smiles down at him and sets her hand on his shoulder, thinking she would chose the same one. After hours of looking, she has to be sure. “You sure, bud?” she asks for confirmation.

She doesn’t just get it from Ben, she gets it from Tobin, Pinoe and Whit too. “That’s the one, Ash. That’s it.”

Ashlyn smiles widely. “Yeah I think it is,” she says as she signals for the man behind the counter and slips her wallet out of her back pocket.

“She’s going to absolutely love it,” Whit says and wraps her arms tightly around her best friend's waist, resting her chin on her shoulder.

After letting out a deep, nervous breath, Ash nods. “I think she will.”

 

__________

 

“What do you think?” Alex asks and holds up a cute little onesie to Ali who just rolls her eyes.

“Are we just going to be shopping for the baby all day?” Ali asks.

Alex glances down to little Ali who’s in the carrier she’s holding. Then she looks back up at Ali. “Well I think little Ali wants some new clothes. Don’t you, you little cutie?” she asks, now cooing down at the baby. She gets a little gurgle in return when she tickles her belly and looks up at Ali with purpose. “See she agrees!”

“If you want a baby so bad, then you have one!” Syd chimes in as she enters the store. She had been next door trying on a few dresses.

Alex shoots her an indignant glare. “Serv and I are waiting until after the Olympics. I’ll just have to live vicariously through Ali for now,” she replies with a throaty chuckle.

“Right,” Ali says as she takes the little dress Alex was holding. It really is quite cute, and pink, so she adds it to her growing pile of things she's buying for her babies. “You guys have only been married less than a year anyways,” she adds.

“Well when are you and Harris gonna tie the knot?” Alex shoots back as she turns her attention to a display of tiny sundresses, her eyes growing big at the endless possibilities before her.

Ali shrugs with a clueless expression. “You know how Ash is. We weren’t even planning on thinking about it until after the Olympics. Now with the kids there’s just too much to worry about.” It’s what she truly believes, but not exactly what she wants. She thinks she hides that well enough but Syd and Alex won’t be fooled.

“I think with the kids, now is _exactly_ the time to think about it,” Syd supplies. “Right, Lex?”

Alex nods and hooks a dress back on the hanger. “I agree. You should tell her to get a move on. Everyone knows you two are the real deal, so why wait?” She finally lifts her eyes from the baby clothes to see Ali’s response.

Ali can see their point, but feels like they don’t see hers. “Guys, she just got forced into being a mother of two children. I know she loves them, but it doesn't change the fact that it happened without any preparation. Don’t you think I should let her take at least one thing at her own pace? It’s not like we both don’t know that’s where it’s heading. I just want her to do something on her time. I don't mind waiting for her."

Syd and Alex appear to ponder it for a moment. “Yeah I guess that does make sense,” Syd agrees. “Besides it’s not like you can’t tell how much she loves you just by the way she looks at you like she thinks the sun shines out of your ass!”

Ali scoffs, but then breaks into a wide smile as the three break into laughter. “Well the feeling is mutual,” she finally supplies as she turns to a wall filled with tiny hats, her eyes lighting up when she sees a familiar one.


	31. On To the Next

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of soccer in this one! Trying out my sports writing lol

"Aw look how cute he looks!" Ali says excitedly to Ash as they walk out of the tunnel and onto the fields for warm ups.

Ash follows her finger until her eyes land on Ben who is sitting in Kyle's lap in his custom made jersey waving frantically to them as Kyle points them out to him. Ash waves back with a big grin before jogging out onto the field with the rest of the team.

The warm ups are done, the starters announced and the national anthems sung. Any niceties the teams exchanged before the game are now gone and that much is obvious as Hope is slid into by a Nigerian forward minutes after Cheney received a cheap shot of her own. Nigeria is pissed about getting stomped by Sweden the first game and they are definitely showing it. The game is intense, intense almost being an understatement. 

Watching Ali chase down a ball with an attacker right behind her makes Ash cringe from the bench. Even though it's their Spirit teammate and they're friends, it doesn't matter. There's no holding back at a World Cup, ACLs and bones be damned. Luckily, Ali clears it away before the forward gets close enough and the gnawing feeling in the pit of Ash's stomach eases a bit.

They're struggling to fall into the game. It's thirty minutes in and they just can't find a rhythm. It could be that they're trying to force it to Abby up the middle or it could be that the ref keeps calling fouls and making the game choppy. Whatever the reason, they're getting frustrated and at this point they're just trying to get to halftime without conceding a goal so they can regroup. Nigeria hasn't even had a shot on net yet or much possession in their attacking third, but crazier things have happened.

With three whistle blasts the red ends the half and everyone lets out a long breath they didn't even know they were holding. Ali jogs off the field with her defenders and Hope who are all chatting animatedly about the game and their defensive shape. They've done well so far, but Hope gives them a few directives as they settle into their seats and wait for Jill.

Their British coach enters the room and everyone immediately silences. She throws her arms up in the air and a smile crosses her face. "You didn't think you could come to the World Cup and walk through every game, did you?" Everyone shakes their heads. "They're a rough team. We knew that going in. We've just got to play quicker. We need to work the ball around them and not set each other up with poorly played balls into traffic." She turns to the white board behind her and begins drawing some formations out.

Ali makes eye contact with Ash from across the room and smiles quickly when the keeper winks at her. She feels immediately calmed, her frustration gone, and with a deep, settling breath turns her attention back to Jill as the coach begins to focus on the outside backs crossing balls in.

"We need more numbers in the box," she mildly chides them. "Kriegs and Kelley are sending good balls in, but we need to be getting on the end of them. This goalie is a little soft. She's given up some big rebounds so let's test her out a little more. Let's get some bodies in front of her and some shots on frame and see if we can rattle her a bit, alright?"

"Let's do it!" calls Lloyd as she stands and claps loudly, taking over for Jill. "We've got 45 minutes. 45 minutes to show the world what U.S. Soccer is all about. Let's not waste this ladies. We've waited four years for this opportunity to come around. Let's go out there and show Nigeria that they can't hang with us!" 

"Let's show 'em up!" Abby chimes in when Carli shoots her a look. "All it takes is one shot, one goal to break them down. No maybes!"

Everyone cheers and instantly the atmosphere has changed as they stick their hands in and listen to Abby pumping them up. 

"USA on there.. One... Two...Three..."

With that that depart back onto the field, feeling amped and pumped and ready to wreak some havoc.

From the opening whistle it's a different game. It seems that Nigeria had been firing on all cylinders, but the U.S. just upped it to another level. The ball is flying around and where their opponents were able to get touches on the ball to break up the play, or get into a hard tackle, they can't even get close to the ball this half.

Five minutes in, Syd receives a ball with her back to the goal. With a one touch pass she plays it back to Lloyd who sends it to Holiday. With the perfect speed and arc Holiday slips a ball back into Syd and sets her free. Her first touch takes her towards goal, second touch goes around the flailing keeper and the third touch drills the ball into the back of the net. 1-0 USA and the crowd goes nuts.

Fifteen minutes later, Press gets the ball wide from Ali. She dribbles a defender and sends a cross into the box which finds Abby's head. 2-0 USA and now the crowd can really feel the game is in the bag.

The second goal seems to deflate Nigeria, it's as if they were a balloon someone popped with a pin, and the fight has all but left them. Regulation time ends and the USA has claimed a 3-0 victory, that could have easily been more.

The players celebrate at half field, congratulating each other, shaking hands with the other team and waving to family and friends up in the stands. Ali and Ash share a brief hug, but as usual keep it casual and professional. They have yet to be really questioned on their relationship and it seems like US Soccer has warned the media to stay away from the topic which both of them are happy about. It's the World Cup and they just want the focus to be on soccer and the team.

"On to the next," Ali says with a wide grin, proud of the clean sheet they received, not that Nigeria really even pushed them offensively.

Ash nods and gives her a smooth high five. "You played great out there," she says proudly. "Looked even better," she adds with a wink when she notices no one is within hearing distance.

Ali rolls her eyes as she leans down to stretch. "Easy there, stud," she says with a smile. "If you're not careful I might drag you off behind the bleachers!"

Ashlyn's eyes go wide at her girlfriend's statement. They have been following the 'no sex' rule they set for themselves pretty strictly since they got to Canada, but things kept heating up and they were both upping their tease game.

Ash would join Ali in the shower, 'innocently' to 'save water' and Ali started moving about the room whenever Ben and little Ali were gone in just a bra and underwear. Ashlyn _almost_ lost it the night before when Ali claimed she was hot and climbed into bed with no clothes on at all the night Ben had slept with little Ali in Deb's room. 

As they lock eye contact, both women know no matter how hard they try, it is only a matter of time until one of them caves. And if one caves, the other won't be far behind.

Ali can see Ashlyn's eyes darken in response to her comment and rolls her eyes. "Come on, sexy. Let's go shower in a room full of our teammates so I know you won't try anything," she says with a teasing glint in her eyes that sends chills through Ashlyn's body when she realizes Ali wants it just as bad.

"You sure you don't want to wait until we get back to the hotel," Ashlyn says with a grin as she waves to the fans while they walk into the tunnel towards the locker room.

"We have Ben tonight. You promised him a movie night. Sorry, stud," Ali says with a shrug. 

"Am I ever going to get some?" Ash playfully groans.

Ali looks over at her with narrowed eyes. "If I score a goal or if you get a clean sheet," Ali says, trying to work out some sort of deal.

Ashlyn scoffs. "So I'm not getting laid until after the 2016 Olympics when Hope retires?" Ash replies with a crooked grin.

After a moment, Ali realizes that there might be truth to the statement, especially since a she's no goal scorer, and quickly backtracks. "Fine. If we beat Sweden," she says evenly.

Ashlyn wags her eyebrows as a wide, dimpled smirk crosses her face. "You mean _when_ we beat Sweden?"


	32. Shutdown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More soccer, Ben cuteness, and Ali being a badass!!

“Ash, can you _please_ change little Ali’s diaper and get her dressed so we can take them up to my parents?” she asks with a bit of frustration as she tries to get a fidgeting Ben into his Harris-Krieger jersey.

The keeper looks up from her phone which she was scrolling through and nods. “Yeah sure,” she answers absently before pocketing the phone in her black Nike warm up pants and heading to the diaper bag which was lying in the corner. She rummages around in it before grabbing a fresh diaper and a few wipes and then sets to work changing baby Ali. When she’s done she places a kiss on her little belly which causes her to giggle and both women to smile. Ali tosses Ash her USA onesie once she has Ben dressed and ready to go and the keeper makes quick work of getting her into it. “I can’t wait until next World Cup when she’s old enough to watch us play,” Ash says offhandedly, buttoning up the last button.

Ali smiles warmly at the proclamation. “Me too, babe.” She finishes packing Ben’s bag and then smoothes down his hair, adding, “At least this handsome guy gets to watch us.”

Ben smiles widely. “Who are we playing?” he asks in a curious, squeaky voice as he wiggles away from Ali who is now trying to fix his hair by licking her fingers to fix his part.

“Brazil,” Ash responds as she scoops baby Ali off the bed, admiring her in her little Krieger-Harris jersey.

“They suck,” Ben mumbles which cause both women to burst out laughing.

“Benjamin Krieger, where did you hear that?” Ali demands, though she has to cover her mouth so Ben can’t see her still laughing.

The little boy looks up at her with wide eyes, realizing that was apparently not something meant to be repeated. “Pinoe?” he says with a little shrug.

“Of course,” Ash chuckles. “We don’t say that word, okay Ben?” she asks in a stern tone, squatting down to his level and leveling her gaze so he knows she’s being serious.

“Sorry, Ashy,” he says and quickly drops his eyes to the floor.

Ali smiles at the interaction as Ashlyn wraps him up in her arms and gives him a big hug. She’s amazed at how far Ashlyn has come as far as her parenting role. After Ben’s initial pizza and drawing on the wall meltdown, the keeper had gone for a more ‘cool friend’ role than reprimanding parent for a time, but recently had really stepped up. Ali was glad that Ash had learned to put her foot down a bit more, which meant she didn’t always have to do the scolding.

“We gotta get going, Ash,” Ali says, her voice a bit nervous.

The keeper picks up on it immediately and whispers in Ben’s ear with a mischievous grin. The little boy pulls away with a smile and runs to Ali, and throws his arms around her neck when she squats down. “I love you, Ali. You’re gonna kick butt and I’m a be cheering so loud for you,” he says sweetly before placing a kiss on her cheek like she so often does to him.

Ali’s smile is beaming when she pulls back to meet his baby blue eyes. “Aw, thanks handsome. I’ll kick butt just for you and little Ali,” she replies and squeezes him tightly. “You ready to go to grandpa’s room?”

The little boy nods and Ali sets him down so her and Ash can finish gathering up their stuff. Ten minutes later, they’ve dropped little Ali off with her mom who will be watching the game on TV and are standing in her dad and Kyle’s room with a very excited Ben.

“Ali and Ashy are going to kick Brazil’s butt!” he shrieks and fist pumps in the air.

“Oh is that so?” Kyle asks with a low chuckle as he wraps his sister up in a hug.

Ali nods, “Heck yes we are!” she jokes and squeezes him back tightly.

Ken comes out of the bathroom wearing his own Krieger jersey and a big smile. 

“Brazil in the Quarterfinals again, huh?” he asks with a rueful smile, thinking back to the last dramatic World Cup game they played. His smiles goes even wider when he thinks of his daughter confidently nailing the PK to send them on.

“Yeah, they came in first in their group,” Ali says with a raised eyebrow.

“Hopefully that slip up against Sweden doesn’t come back to haunt us,” Ash interjects. “They get to play Colombia.”

Ken lets Ali go and pulls Ashlyn in. “Hey a 1-0 loss in a well-fought game is nothing to hang your heads over. Just have to focus on the task at hand today. Besides, I’m excited to watch my little girl shutdown Marta all day,” he jests and winks at Ali who rolls her eyes.

“I’m not a little girl anymore, but I will definitely be shutting down that Brazilian,” she concedes which causes some light laughter.

“Well you two better get going. The bus will be leaving soon. Good luck and we’ll see you at the stadium okay?”

Both women nod and make their way out of the room after giving Ben a hug and kiss. As they wait for the elevator on the third floor of the hotel, Ali falls into Ashlyn’s open arms, letting her head rest on the keeper’s chest.

“I can’t wait to watch my sexy, badass defender play out there,” Ash says with a kiss to Ali’s head.

Ali lets out a long sigh and sinks further into her arms. “I just want to make everyone proud,” Ali confesses.

Ash pulls back a bit to meet Ali’s soft brown eyes, sensing a bit of apprehension in her girlfriend’s voice. “Hey,” she starts and waits for Ali to look up. “Everyone is already so proud of you. One game won’t make or break that, but I know you’re going to be great baby.”

“Thanks,” Ali replies and Ashlyn’s heart melts at her ever endearing mumble. “I love you.”

“Of course. I love you too,” she whispers and then lifts Ali’s chin with her finger, bringing her in for a sweet kiss before the elevator doors open.

 

________

 

“Force her outside, Krieger!” screams Jill from the side of field as she uncharacteristically stands up to direct the play more closely as regulation time begins to wind down under five minutes with the score still tied 0-0. “Well done!” she adds, when Ali funnels Marta out wide and then steps in to win a hard tackle and send the ball down the pitch to a streaking Press.

The relief is short lived though as a Brazilian defender intercepts it off Press’s loose first touch and plays it into a checking midfielder. Brazil is on the counter attack yet again, as the U.S. defenders turn on their heels to match stride with the pressing Brazil attack. 

Ali, as she has been most of the game is pushed a bit more central, matching Brazil’s most decorated forward stride for stride down the field. A ball is played in to her and for a moment the crowd gasps as Ali gets tripped up on the attacker’s feet and stumbles while Marta gets the ball by the center circle, streaking towards the USA net with a clear path in front of her. JJ is trying desperately to catch her on the angle while still cutting off the pass that could set her own mark free on net. Hope shifts in position, her face locked in a serious stare, ready for the shot that never comes as Ali chases down the Brazilian forward and slides just at the last minute to send the ball hurling out of bounds just as Marta looked primed to rip an uncontested shot from the top of the eighteen yard box.

As the Brazilians set up for the resulting corner kick, Ali is slow to get up. Her leg from hip bone to mid-quad is ripped open and bloody from the turf, but with Pinoe’s help she gingerly lifts herself off the ground and goes to get into position. It’s not meant to be though as the ref blows her whistle and signals Ali to go off to get the blood -that is now dripping down and staining her sock- cleaned up, refusing to let her continue until it’s addressed. Ali lets out a curse word under her breath as she jogs through the pain to the sideline where the trainers are waiting with a bandage, glancing up at the clock which has just clicked under one minute

The trainers quickly wipe the blood, ignoring Ali’s screamed obscenities as they scrape her raw skin and then quickly rub some antibacterial ointment on it. They’re just starting to wrap a thin ace-bandage around it when the ref blows the whistle re-starting play and the Brazilians take full advantage of the USA’s top defender being on the bench. They quickly send the ball into the box as Ali watches incredulously at the ref’s decision to not even allow her a quick moment to address the blood.

Time stands still as the ball flies over defender’s and attacker’s alike, finally dropping right to the head of the Brazilian player who seems to be hanging in the air, waiting. She makes solid connection as the ball sails towards the upper corner of the net with what looks like impossible speed. The audience takes a collective gasp as Hope leaps for it, only to have it fly past her fingers on it’s way to the net. Ali closes her eyes, unable to watch, until she hears the unmistakable sound of a ball clanking off a crossbar.

Her eyes yank open just as the rest of the audience begins screaming while the ball flies back into the mass of players crammed into the USA’s box. There’s a scrum, players fighting for the ball that seems to be pinging around, until it lands at Marta’s foot just to the left of the penalty spot. She winds up and rips a shot that again seems destined for the back of the net until Hope dives, this time able to parry the ball wide. Kling races after the ball and successfully slides to keep it in bounds and send it up to Pinoe as players begin to dissipate from the box to follow the play up field.

The ref looks over and quickly waves Ali on as the clock hits zero and they enter what the fourth official has stated to be two minutes of stoppage time, and the defender quickly sprints onto the field, pushing the pain out of her mind.

The U.S. attack progresses quickly and Ali finds herself higher up since she subbed back on at half field. The Brazilian defenders are drawn to the center where the U.S. forwards are making their runs, especially Abby who they do not want to spoil their World Cup dreams with another miraculous last minute header. As Pinoe lofts a cross into Abby, a scene reminiscent of the 2011 quarter-final, the two Brazilian defenders sandwich her in the box and she crumbles to the ground before she can even get off the ground for the header. The whole stadium erupts into an uproar at the cheap foul that the ref seems amiss to acknowledge as the USA’s veteran attacker lays writhing in pain.

Ali doesn’t have time to scream about the foul though as the ball squirts to the top of the eighteen after being missed by Wambach and both Brazilian defenders. No one had seen her come back on the field, not that they would have focused on a defender with one international goal over the world’s most potent striker, and with all the focus and strength she has left, she winds up and connects solidly with the ball. The stadium is immediately silenced, pin-drop quiet, as the ball hurls towards the net.

She doesn’t believe it. She doesn’t believe it when she sees the ball fly past the diving keeper’s fingers. She doesn’t believe it when she sees the back of the net ripple, the tell-tale sign off a solid strike. She doesn’t even believe it when the crowd erupts in cheers, alternating between ‘USA! USA! USA!' and ‘Krieger! Krieger!’ She finally believes it when everything comes back into focus and she is slammed into by a freight-train of excited, screaming USA players.

"YOU FUCKING DID IT, KRIEGS!” shouts Lloyd, who is first to get to her and jumps into the defender’s arms.

The other defenders are next to get there. They’re the farthest away, but when a fellow defender scores that type of goal, there’s an overwhelming sense of pride that makes them sprint just a bit faster to join the celebration that's now been pushed towards the sideline.

“That was a rocket, Krieger!” screams Syd over the crowd and quickly wraps her arms around Ali as the rest of the players on the field and substitutes alike rush to them.

They all stumble to the ground as Pinoe gets there, leaping into and toppling over the pile as she’s known to do. They’re laughing and screaming and crying as the lay there, briefly basking in the moment. The atmosphere in the stadium as they finally pull apart is unlike anything Ali has ever experienced. The crowd, about three quarters of which are pulling for the USA are all screaming and she can literally feel the vibrations from the noise pulsing through her chest, rattling down to her core.

She looks through the masses of people as the rest of the players are being hollered at by the ref to get ready for the restart and catches eyes with Ashlyn through the dogpile. The keeper is positively glowing with pride and Ali can swear she sees tears in the corner of her eyes as she hears the whole stadium chanting for her girlfriend, the unsung hero who busts her ass day in and day out with none of the glitz and glam that regular goal scorers receive. 

Ash has always known Ali was primed for greatness, she’s just glad the rest of the world can now see it to. She smiles and mouths ‘I love you’ to Ali as the girls separate and make their way back onto the field. In return as she back pedals onto the field, wearing her signature nose-crinkling grin, Ali forms her hands into a heart and holds it in the air towards the bench and her family which are sitting a few rows behind it.

A heart that is held only by her three loves; Ash, Ben and little Ali.


	33. By All Means

The next minute of stoppage time feels like forever, but after a close call where Lloyd slides to block Cristiane’s shot, the ref finally blows the whistle and the crowd, which hadn’t seemed to quiet after Ali’s goal, seems to find yet another decibel level. All the players on the field and the bench rush to center field to again wrap Ali up as they continued to celebrate their extraordinary last minute win against Brazil, for the second World Cup in a row.

Ali is being jostled, jumped on, having her ass slapped and being kissed on the head by player after player, but her eyes don’t fully light up until she’s in her favorite keeper’s arms, wrapped up in a straight-jacket tight hug.

“You did it, Alex!” she screams excitedly as she lifts Ali in the air and spins her around in a few circles, before setting her sweaty girlfriend down and meeting her eyes. “You never stop surprising me,” she says with the biggest, brightest smile she’s ever mustered.

Ali laughs and honestly feels like she’s floating. She’s never scored a big goal like this in her life and to be honest she’s not even sure how to react. All she knows is that her body feels lighter than it’s ever felt and she doesn’t think she’ll ever be able to stop smiling.

To Ashlyn, the sight of Ali’s beaming, nose crinkling grin is the cutest thing she’s seen. It never ceases to amaze her how this hot, swagger-filled, complete badass on the field version of Ali is the same woman who is an adorable girly girl that can’t leave the house without mascara and her nails painted. The sight of Ali grinning so widely like a fool, like she can’t even fully comprehend what’s happening -that she just scored a last minute goal to send USA to semifinals of the World Cup- does something to her, or maybe it’s the fact that the entire stadium of 35,000 people is chanting for her, but her eyes darken and she really wishes they weren’t in public because if they were, that sweaty jersey would be gone, and Ali wouldn’t be grinning, instead her lips would be parted while she screamed Ash’s name with her head thrown back into the pillow and back arched off the bed.

Ali can sense the shift in the atmosphere immediately, but doesn’t have time to do anything but give Ash a wink as if to say ‘it’s on later’ before she is pulled away for a victory lap by Syd and Abby. After they make their lap as a team, high-fiving fans, being draped in flags and signing just a few autographs, Ali comes to a halt in front of a familiar group of people.

“ALI!” shrieks Ben who is trying to scamper out of Kyle’s arms to get to her.

Her face lights up even brighter as she pulls herself up with the metal railing onto the concrete pad of the first row. “HEY BENNY!” she says just as excitedly back and then smiles when she feels someone nudge her hips and sees Ashlyn has climbed up after her.

The keeper pulls Ben from Kyle’s arms and the three share a warm, tight embrace as the crowd around them reaches out patting their backs and congratulating them. They barely feel it though, solely focused on taking in the moment as a family. When Ali finally pulls back she plants a huge kiss on Ben’s cheek and he yells, “That goal was wicked!” The defender lifts her eyes and gives Ash a playfully chastising look, knowing exactly where his new terminology came from.

Ash grins sheepishly before kissing the top of Ben’s head. They hand him back to Kyle when Carli lets Ali know the media is waiting for her, but quickly share hugs with the rest of her family and friends that had made it to the game.

“I’ll meet you in the locker room after I finish up with interviews, okay?”

Ash nods and gives her a quick kiss on the cheek when they enter the tunnel so no one can see them. “Good luck. I’m glad you’re finally getting the attention you deserve,” she says honestly and Ali can see the pride behind her eyes.

“You’re next,” Ali replies with just as much honesty, though neither know how true the statement is.

They part ways at the locker room and Ali heads a few doors down to the media room. Hope is just finishing up, she saved some sure goals in true Hope fashion that had kept them in the game. She answers the last question and then thanks everyone before slowly getting up and exiting the room. Ali takes the seat next to Jill where Hope was just sitting and smiles while waiting for the first question. It’s really the first time she’s been in an open media scrum as defenders don’t get the most attention and she’s understandably a bit nervous.

“Ali, can you explain how you’re feeling right now? What does this win mean to you?”

She takes a deep breath before responding. “Honestly I can’t even begin to describe how it feels, because I don’t think it’s really hit me yet that this is real!” she chuckles and the rest of the media joins her. “But I can tell you how huge this win is for us. Brazil is always a tough game and especially after the results we had against them this winter, to come out ahead of them again and advance on in the tournament is huge. I mean it’s win or go home at this point so I think that’s all that needs to be said about what this win means for us.”

The reporter nods and jots a few things down as the next one raises his hand and asks a question. “How’s the leg feeling? It looks like you took a nasty spill right there at the end.”

Ali thinks on it for a moment and realizes through the excitement and adrenaline she had almost ceased to feel the pain. She does know it’s going to be extremely painful in the coming hours and most likely the rest of the tournament. “It’s just turf burn,” she answers to downplay it.

“Do you think this is something that will hold you back? I know turf was a big issue leading up to the World Cup.”

With a shrug she states, “It won’t hold me back. Obviously it was bloody and the referee chose to send me off to clean it up, but it won’t hinder me from playing. This is the World Cup knockout stage. Do I think it sucks that we’re playing on turf and it happened, yeah. But, a little brush burn won’t keep me off the field.”

“It didn’t look like a _little_ brush burn to me!” joked another reporter and everyone including Ali and Jill laughed.

With a wide smile she added, “Alright it might be a big brush burn.”

Her smile quickly falls, as does the laughter in the room when the next question is shouted from the back of the room. “Ali, don't you think it's unprofessional to be dating someone on your team? Doesn't that relationship negatively impact the team?”

Her face hardens and the room becomes silent as everyone turns to see who asked the question. It’s an older man, maybe in his late fifties wearing a plaid button down and dark blue jeans, and before Ali has a chance to react, Jill grabs the microphone.

“First of all, your media pass will be revoked for that question as you were all warned that those types of questions were off the table for this interview. Second, and I say this more so for everyone else in the room’s benefit as well as Alexandra’s, that Ali and Ashlyn’s relationship has been nothing but professional when on National Team duty and there have never been any instances that I’ve either witnessed or have been brought to my attention on the contrary. Now if you will please leave, we can get back to asking soccer related questions.”

Ali breathes out a sigh of relief, thankful that Jill stepped in, but resents it a bit that she wasn’t able to give the man a piece of her mind as he slowly stands up and snakes his way out of the room. She glares at him, but immediately softens as her eyes fell on the crowd of reporters who are all sitting respectfully in silence with sympathetic looks. 

Going for humor to lighten the mood, she grabs the microphone back from Jill. “Well nothing like a personal question straight to the gut to kill a vibe after scoring the game winning goal in the knockout round. Now I know why defenders shy away from these interviews!”

The reporters appreciate the candor and they all join in on the laughter.

Trying to keep the mood lighter, a cute, petite blonde reporter in the front row adds, "Hope you're not planning any trips to Brazil anytime soon. I doubt they'll let you in the country after you've sent them packing the last two World Cups!"

Ali giggles and nods as she thinks pensively. "I guess I have, haven't I?" She then quickly returns to teammate mode. "All I can say is that this team has no quit in it. It's an honor to be out there playing with and for those girls and to be honest I wouldn't have been in that position either year if my teammates hadn't fought as hard as they did to keep the game scoreless."

The reporters seem to love her answers, thorough and genuine, and her Krieger charm doesn't hurt either. After a few more questions they finish up and Ali thanks everyone for their time as she slips out of the room.

"Good luck in the semis!" calls one of the reporters to which she grins widely in return. 

Half an hour later the team is showered, changed and giddily gathered in front of the bus. Once inside, Ashlyn slides into the seat next to Ali, her customary spot.

"So are we going out for dinner to celebrate with everyone?" Ash asks with a smile.

Ali shakes her head and quickly explains when she sees how confused Ash looks. "I got us a babysitter. I'm taking _you_ out," she says and gently pokes Ash in the chest as she says it.

The keeper raises and eyebrow, "Oh is that so? What's the occasion?" she feigns ignorance.

"To thank you. Not that I didn't appreciate it before, but I think everything really hit home for me today. I'm not here if it wasn't for you, Ash. Not even close." Ali smirks a bit as she finishes with a whisper, "So I have _a lot_ of thanking you to do tonight."

Now it's Ashlyn's turn to flash her a dimpled, mischievous grin as she sits back in her seat. "By all means then..thank away."


	34. Prove It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the longest chapter I've ever written and will probably ever write! It's got Ash & Ali backstory, some soccer, some mushy stuff and some smut. Hopefully I'll have another update later today. This ones got one or two more chapters and possibly an epilogue if there's interest. Thanks for reading :)

“Looking good there, Miss Krieger,” Ash says with a wide grin as Ali comes out of the bathroom in a flowy black dress, low heels in hand and sits on the edge of the bed to slip them on.

Ali lifts her eyes and takes Ash in. She’s wearing black skinny pants and a black button up with her hair down, hanging wildly over both shoulders. The golden shark tooth necklace Ali gave her is hanging from her neck, settled between her breasts that Ali takes a moment to admire in the tight fitting shirt. “You’re looking pretty hot yourself,” Ali says as she finishes buckling her shoe. “I love the black on black,” she adds and walks over to the desk to shove some things in her purse.

As she leans over, Ash subconsciously licks her lips. She takes a few steps and wraps her arms around Ali’s waist, pressing her front to Ali’s back. “You know,” she begins before pulling Ali’s hair over one shoulder and beginning to kiss her neck, “we could just stay in tonight. I believe you scored a goal so you know what that means."

Ali lets out a soft sigh and can feel her body immediately reacting to Ashlyn’s touch. She lets her kisses carry on for a minute, but when Ashlyn’s hands slide from her hips a bit further up and begin massaging her breasts, Ali turns to face her and puts a gentle hand on her chest to stop her. “We have reservations,” she gets out, though it’s through shaky breaths. She thought facing Ashlyn would stop her advances, but now the keeper’s thigh is pressing into her core and her body begins aching for more.

“It’s been a few weeks, Alex,” Ash says, dipping her head to return her lips to Ali’s exposed neck. “I don’t think it will take you too long.”

Ali pushes her away a bit and raises an eyebrow skeptically. “Excuse me?” she asks with pursed lips.

Ash smirks, getting the exact response she expected from the prideful defender. Ali’s never been a hairpin trigger, but she knows when it’s been a while, Ali’s body gives in to her touch much faster. “Care to prove me wrong?” she asks and slides a hand up Ali’s thigh and underneath the hem of her dress. She grins, dimple in plain view, when she feels how wet Ali is through the fabric.

Ali’s hip hitch forward when Ash slides her fingers over her already soaking center, but she’s not giving in that easy. Though all she wants is to push the blonde back on the bed and straddle her to wipe the stupid smirk off her face, she slides out from between the desk and Ash with a wide grin. “Dinner,” is all she says before reaching around Ash and grabbing her clutch from the desk she had just been pinned to moments ago.

“Then dessert?” Ash asks with a seductive grin.

Ali rolls her eyes. “Well I _did_ score,” she says with a shoulder shrug and leaves the rest up to Ash’s imagination.

It’s enough for Ash and she grins while slipping her jacket off a hanger in the closet. “So dessert later,” she winks and then pulls the door open for them to make their way out of the room.

The cool Edmonton air is a warm welcome after the exhausting heat from the game. Ali’s legs are sore, and she’s wearing a loose dress so nothing rubs on her turf burn, but she’s still riding a high from her miraculous goal. She slips her arm in Ash’s and leans in to the keeper. “I still can’t believe it,” she confesses. It honestly was unlike anything she’s ever felt, even more intense than when she scored the PK against Brazil last year.

“I know. I think I almost blacked out when you scored,” Ash says with a chuckle. “The bench went _insane_ , Ali. Like…I can’t even explain what I felt in that moment.”

Ali snuggles in further. “Me either. I think I blacked out too!” she agrees. “It was surreal.”

“It really was. Man when that crowd was chanting your name, it gave me chills. It was amazing.” She places a kiss on top of Ali’s head. “You’re amazing.”

“Who knows. Maybe one day they’ll be chanting Krieger-Harris,” Ali teases, but there’s more behind the joke. There’s an underlying exploration of where Ash is at on the subject.

Ash just plays it off. “Maybe. But hey why does it have to be Krieger-Harris? Why not Harris-Krieger?”

Ali giggles at her girlfriend’s ever present competitive side. “You have to admit it sounds better my way,” she replies nonchalantly with a shrug.

Ash just grumbles and slips her arm around her shoulder to pull her closer. “Whatever you say, princess,” she mumbles as Ali rests her head on her.

They walk for a few more minutes quietly, taking in the streets around them. Neither has ever spent time in Edmonton so they take in the little shops and restaurants before Ali nudges her into a cute, modern looking Thai place.

“Mmm my favorite,” Ash says and rubs her tummy before patting it a few times.

Ali shakes her head as she walks to the hostess. “Two for Krieger. We’re a few minutes late,” she confesses.

“Would have been a lot of minutes late if I had my way,” Ash whispers in her ear when she catches up to Ali as the hostess leads them to their table. She pulls Ali’s chair out for her and smirks when she sees Ali roll her eyes at her statement.

“Thanks,” Ali says with a warm smile as she scoots her chair in and takes the menu from the woman. “So what are you thinking? Split a few things?” Ali asks while perusing the menu.

Ash knows it’s not really a question, it’s what Ali is planning on doing so she just nods. “Yeah just get whatever. We like the same things.”

Ali nods and places their order, plus two waters when their waiter comes over. She turns her attention back to Ashlyn. “So how have you been?”

The keeper bursts out laughing at the question, but quickly composes herself when she sees Ali’s slightly un-amused expression. 

“Alex, we’ve been together almost 24/7. I don’t know what there’s really to say,” she explains.

Ali sits back in her chair. “I just want to know how you’re feeling with everything. It’s been awhile since we’ve had adult time and talked about real things.”

Ash quickly picks up from her tone that she’s not talking about the kind of ‘adult time’ they had almost had before they left for the restaurant. “I’m just excited,” Ash answers and then elaborates some more. “I’m excited that I’m here with you and with Ben and little Ali. I’m glad it all worked out. I know we obviously haven’t figured everything out, but I think we’re all exactly where we’re supposed to be,” she says with pure sincerity.

Ali smiles widely at her girlfriend’s statement. “I think we are too. I honestly couldn’t ask for anything more than you, Ash. I meant what I said about me not being here if it weren’t for you. And I don’t just mean because of what happened before the Cup with the kids. You pushed me to come back when I hurt my knee in Qualifiers, stood by my side through concussions and were always there to lift me up after the tough losses. You opened my eyes to so many things, not just about life, but about who I was as a person. I’m the woman I am today in large part because of you.”

Ashlyn quickly wipes her eyes which are glistening with tears. Ali’s never been one to hold back her feelings or expressing her love for Ashlyn, but this confession seems to be on a whole other level. “Well I should thank myself, “she jokes, “because you are the most amazing woman I’ve ever met, Alex. And you were just as amazing when I first met you.”  
Ali giggles a bit at the statement. “Do you remember when we first met?”

Ashlyn grins widely as she recalls their first real encounter, their whole first camp really. “How could I ever forget that?” she says, her cheeks blushing a bit.

“I still can’t believe you didn’t know I was there!” Ali laughs, her voice becoming higher as she can’t control her giddiness anymore.

Ashlyn throws her hands up in the air playfully. “Okay, you literally must have been dead in that bed because Tobin was in the room too and had no idea you were in their either!”

“It was a rough practice and I was tired. I had literally flown from Germany the day before and jet lag was killing me! Not my fault you two came in after I passed out," Ali says defensively with a wide grin.

Ashlyn holds up two fingers in the air. “Two hours, Ali. Two hours!”

Ali shrugs. “Not my fault you didn’t know I was in the room when you were telling Tobin how hot I was and if she thought you had a chance with me,” Ali says with a knowing smirk. She’ll never forget their exchange that camp.

Setting her drink down, Ash buries her face in her hands. “I can’t believe you just happened to wake up when I said that!” she says incredulously. Ali grins, but has to bite her lip when Ash lifts her gaze. “What?” Ashlyn asks with a raised eyebrow, sensing there’s something else behind the story that’s about to come out.

With a shrug Ali turns to her food that was just delivered, but Ash reaches out and stills her hands. “What didn’t you tell me?” she asks, her voice a bit more serious.

“I may or may not have been awake for fifteen minutes just listening to you talk,” Ali mumbles, but Ash catches every word.

“WHAT?!” she says before breaking into a laugh. “I can’t believe you!” she adds with a shake of her head.

Ali shifts her gaze up from her food to Ashlyn’s hazel eyes as she settles her grin. “I may or may not have thought you were hot too. I just liked hearing you talk,” she says honestly. “It was a different side of you and I realized _I_ wanted to be the one you confessed things to.”

Ash releases Ali’s hand and begins to shovel some food onto her plate. She thinks back to the conversation that she and Tobin were having. Part of her thinks she should be upset that Ali was eavesdropping on a private conversation, but also finds it endearing that the defender was too shy to really talk to her at first. “So you heard all about Natalia?”

Ali nods. “It was nice to see a vulnerable side of you instead of the confident, goofy goalkeeper who seems to have no worries in the world, and can get any girl,” Ali muses and then digs into her Pad Thai.

“You thought I was a player too?” Ashlyn says, admittedly a bit hurt at Ali’s assumption.

Ali shakes her head. “No, I didn’t think you were a player, just a big flirt,” she says with a wink and Ashlyn visibly relaxes a bit before stabbing a plump shrimp on Ali’s plate and shoveling it into her mouth.

“Well I’m glad you made me work for it,” she finally gets out around a mouthful of shrimp and noodles, her mind back at the Algarve Cup a few months after her confession where she made her first move all those years ago.

 

_“Come back to the hotel with me,” Ash whispers hotly in Ali’s ear as the defender continues dancing up on her, their bodies flush against each other as they moved to the house music blasting from the speakers in the Portuguese club._

_Ali reverently shakes her head and steps forward a bit to separate them. The last two camps, they had been almost inseparable, with frequent texts, phone calls and Skype sessions filling the gaps between, but this was a new revelation. She knows the keeper has been flirting with her the entire Algarve Cup and admittedly, something that surprised herself as much as Ashlyn, she has returned it. But after hearing her confess how hurt she was when Natalia cheated on her and then broke up with her a few months ago, Ali has no intention of becoming a rebound girl. If that’s what Ashlyn wants, she can find a hot chick for a one-night stand in Portugal._

_Ashlyn furrows her brow a bit, but doesn’t follow Ali forward. She’s not one to hit on a teammate, but there was something about the brunette that she couldn’t put her finger on, literally and figuratively. She just wanted to be near her. Teammates wasn’t enough, so they became friends. Then friends wasn’t enough and they found their way to best friends, but it still didn’t feel like enough. It was like no matter what, Ash just couldn’t get close enough to her. Maybe their sweaty bodies melded together, wrapped in sheets would finally be close enough for her._

_Ali turns, surprised that Ash stopped dancing with her. She sees her confused face and feels bad for a second. After getting to know Ash the last few months, she can’t deny that she’s been drawn to her, as if there’s a magnetic attraction between the two. She is always fun and light-hearted and Ali can’t remember a time they hung out where Ashlyn didn’t have her laughing heartily, but there was also a softer, serious side to her that Ali had become privy too as they grew closer. Was there something more there? That’s where she was unsure, but she definitely wanted to find out._

_Taking a step forward she closes the gap between them. She wraps her arms around Ashlyn’s neck and easily matches the keeper’s hips with her own. A few of their teammates dance around them, but Ali is only looking at Ashlyn. She can sense something different in her hazel eyes, the usually cocky glint has been replaced with something else. Apprehension, maybe? Ali finds it endearing and leans in to rest her head on Ashlyn’s chest. It feels comfortable, right, and by the way her body is reacting to Ashlyn's touch she knows they share something deeper than friendship. “I don’t want to be a rebound,” she whispers in Ashlyn’s ear._

_The keeper pulls back to meet her eyes. “You’re not, Alex. The farthest thing from it,” she quickly corrects her, their lips only inches away sharing the same breath. Her heart is soaring at Ali’s confession that she wants more too, but she needs her to know it’s more than just a physical attraction._

_Alcohol is coursing through her, but Ali knows this is what she wants. “Then prove it,” she says before crashing their lips together._

_It takes Ash a minute, but she quickly reciprocates the kiss, pressing her lips back into Ali’s soft, full ones. She feels Ali melt into her and puts her hands on her hips to pull her closer, relishing every point of contact she has with the beautiful defender._

_When Ashlyn’s hands slip off her waist and firmly grab her ass, Ali pulls back. Their dark, hungry eyes meet and Ali grabs her hand and drags her from the dance floor. “Your room or mine?” she asks heatedly as she throws her arms around the keeper’s neck and pulls her in for another deep kiss once outside, sliding her tongue in Ashlyn’s mouth with ease._

_Ashlyn almost gets lost in the kiss, but Ali’s words surge through her mind._ **Prove it**. 

_A drunken hookup, no matter how badly they both want it, probably isn’t the way to prove her feelings to Ali. She pulls back, breathless from the kiss and with a gentle hand to Ali’s chest, pushes herself back a step. “How about a walk on the beach, instead?” she asks. It’s taking everything in her not to drag Ali back to the hotel. Now that she’s tasted Ali’s lips, it’s all she can focus on. She desperately wants more._

_Ali scrunches her face a bit, her chest heaving as she processes Ashlyn’s expression. She can easily read the hunger in the keeper’s eyes, so she knows it’s not that she doesn’t want her, but can’t pin point the other emotions her expression holds. The cool Portugal air settling into her chest finally clears the lust filled haze she’s fallen in and as she settles her breathing she can sense the tentativeness in the way Ashlyn holds her hand out for her and the way her dark eyes have turned hopeful. “A walk sounds perfect.”_

 

Ali smiles warmly back as she drifts through the same memory as Ash. “Me too,” she smiles, forever grateful that the keeper walked them down the beach and confessed her feelings and her intentions to prove them to Ali instead of drunkenly hooking up for the first time in a hotel room. “And look where we are now,” she said and spreads her arms out wide. “Who would have thought?” she chuckles.

“Me,” Ash replies earnestly. When she sees Ali’s quizzical look, she quickly elaborates. “Once I had you, I knew there was no way I could ever let you go.”

“Such a charmer,” Ali says with a playful eye roll, but the blonde’s words still make her heart beat a bit quicker.

They’re interrupted from their intense gaze by the waiter. “Any dessert for you two ladies tonight?” he asks.

A cocky smirk crosses Ashlyn’s lips. “We’re all set. We’re actually having dessert back at the hotel,” she replies.

The double meaning is lost on the man, but not Ali whose eyes immediately go wide. “Ashlyn Michelle,” she hisses in slight embarrassment as the waiter disappears and she slips some bills under the check. Setting her jaw she slides her chair back and stands. When Ashlyn looks back her slightly worried at Ali’s initial reaction, she lets a devious smile fall on her lips. “You coming to get your dessert, or what?”

They make it back to the hotel in a lot less time that it took them to get to the restarting. Unsurprisingly, sex is a better motivator to them than food and within fifteen minutes they're back in the room, Ashlyn slamming the door closed behind her.

She stalks towards Ali with a lustful stare so intense that it makes Ali wet just thinking about what she's about to get. 

"I missed you," Ash says as she guides Ali slowly back towards the bed.

The gentleness Ash is showing, despite how worked up she is, ignites Ali's fire even more. "Prove it," she whispers, already breathless in anticipation as she feels the back of her knees hit the bed.

Ashlyn plants a sweet kiss on her lips and then spins Ali around. With one hand holding Ali's hip, her lips don't leave her neck as she begins unzipping the dress. "You are so beautiful," Ash says softly, breaking each word in the sentence with a kiss to Ali's neck and shoulder. She straightens up and gently pulls the straps of Ali's dress off her shoulders and smiles as she guides the fabric to the ground.

"Ash," Ali moans when the keeper's hands dip just under the waistband of her panties. 

"Yes?" Ashlyn quirks as she pulls one hand out and unclasps Ali's bra, giving it a similar treatment as the dress in letting it fall to the ground.

"Please, baby. I need you." 

Ash turns Ali again and let's her eyes rake over her body. Her chest rising and falling in anticipation and as she looks at Ali's glistening folds, she knows just how true her girlfriend's statement is.

Closing the small gap between them, Ashlyn's hands rest on Ali's hips, mindful of her turf burn, and she presses their lips together. Ali eagerly accepts the contact and slides her tongue forward into Ashlyn's mouth to spur her on.

"Please," she whispers again, willing her girlfriend to speed things up a bit as the ache between her legs only grows.

Ashlyn doesn't need anymore encouragement, the movement of Ali grinding her hips into her is enough. She quickly shucks off her shirt and pants and then returns to Ali, leaning forward while gently guiding the defender onto the bed.

Ali's body is flush against the bed with Ashlyn's pressed into it. The keeper settles between her legs, adding a bit of pressure to Ali's soaking center with her thigh while she grazes her nipple with her fingers. 

Their kiss has heated up and Ali let's a moan slip into Ashlyn's mouth when she feels the keeper massaging her breast.

"You were amazing today," Ash says huskily as she pulls her lips down, taking Ali's nipple into her mouth and sucking on it until it stands up for her. She gives the other the same treatment as her hand works its way up Ali's inner thigh. 

"I don't think I've ever wanted you more than when I was in the stadium after you scored," she continues, trailing her kisses even lower and swirling her tongue across Ali's navel.

"Oh yeah?" Ali manages to get out, but it's breathless and the way she's writhing under Ashlyn's strong frame takes the smugness out of it immediately. 

"Yes," Ash replies, her lips now trained on Ali's hip. "So. Fucking. Sexy," she finishes, just before flicking her tongue over Ali's clit.

The defender's hips immediately raise off the bed towards her face, but Ashlyn's strong arms quickly pin her back down. She slides her tongue down further, letting out a moan of her own when Ali's slick juices coat her tongue. "Mmm you taste so good," Ash hums as she lets her body settle in, her left hand shifting up from Ali's hip to her breast. 

"Fuck, Ash," Ali moans as she feels the keeper's broad tongue strokes through the length of her folds. "I love the way you feel inside me," she adds through shaky breaths when Ash pushes her tongue deep into Ali's center.

It isn't long before Ali's body begins trembling, but longer than Ash thought it would be. She figures Ali is holding back to prove her earlier comment false, so she decides to up her game.

"Everyone in America wants a piece of Ali Krieger after today, but she's all mine," Ash says as she pulls back a bit. She earns a groan from Ali at the loss of contact, but that quickly turns into a high pitched moan when Ash's tongue is replaced by her long fingers. "You're all mine," Ash continues as she plunges her fingers in and out of Ali's ribbed pussy, before dropping her head and taking Ali's clit in her mouth, sucking on it as she feels her body begin to writhe with an impending orgasm.

"All yours," Ali agrees, spurring the keeper on as she feels her body begin to tighten around her girlfriend's fingers, her mind a cloudy, star filled haze. 

The words have the intended effect and Ashlyn doubles her efforts, sucking even harder on her clit and driving her fingers in with a singular focus.

"Fuck, Ash!" Ali yells, and snakes her fingers through the keeper's hair to pull her up towards her. She fuses their lips together tasting herself on Ashlyn while still moaning and chanting obscenities as the keeper times her fingers with each new ripple of orgasm. 

"Fuckkk," Ali finally whispers when Ash pulls her fingers out. She pulls Ash's hand to her and begins to lick her fingers clean while locking eyes with her. "How was your dessert?" she asks after pulling Ashlyn's middle finger out of her mouth.

"Pretty fucking delicious," Ash replies smugly as she looks down on her panting girlfriend, enjoying the way her skin glistened with the slightest sheen of sweat. "Ready for yours?" she asks with a grin before leaning down for another kiss.


	35. About Damn Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is... The last chapter. Thanks everyone for reading and interacting! Definitely loved getting feedback and input from you all. I'll probably get to the epilogue this weekend (hopefully). Hope you enjoyed it and please let me know what you thought :)

She goes down hard. Hard enough to immediately silence the entire stadium in an instant. They wouldn’t be panicked, she’s taken worse hits, if it wasn’t for the keening wails escaping from her mouth the instant they collide. 

Ashlyn doesn’t even need to be told, she immediately grabs her gloves off the bench next to her and begins warming up as the trainers sprint on the field to tend to Hope, who has a growing number of concerned players from both teams gathered around her.

Five minutes later as she begins to make her way to the bench, it is painfully obvious that she dislocated her shoulder by the way it’s hanging lower on one side. Ashlyn’s seen it before, hell she’s _experienced_ it before, but that doesn’t make it any easier. Hope is her teammate, her mentor and contrary to popular belief, her _friend_. In a game that should solidify her title as the best women’s soccer keeper thus far in history, she’s being walked off the field with twenty five minutes left in a tied game against arguably the other goalie vying for the same title, Nadine Angerer, and there’s no hope for her return.

Ashlyn passes by as she makes her way onto the field, her heart racing, and Hope reaches out with her good arm to stop her. They lock eyes, Hope’s piercing blue eyes seeing through to Ashlyn’s soul. “This is your team now, Harris,” she says. Her voice wavers a bit, but her jaw is set tight and there is supreme confidence behind the words. “You’ve got what it takes. Go out there and win this for us.”

Ashlyn nods, fighting the bubbling emotions that are rising up. Although it’s all she’s ever wanted, to play in World Cup Final, it just seems wrong. It’s happening all wrong and as she jogs on the field and approaches the huddled group of defenders, Ali can pick up on it immediately. She locks eyes and with a simple gaze tells Ashlyn everything she needs to know. _You’ve got this. You belong here. Let’s fucking do it._

The keeper takes a deep breath and claps her gloves together. “Twenty-five left. Let’s keep this clean sheet and let the forwards do the rest, okay?”

They nod and quickly go over strategy for a moment until the ref comes over and tells them they’re going to restart the game. The defender’s dissipate, but Ash and Ali remain rooted in place for just a moment longer.

“Who woulda thought we’d find ourselves in this situation?” Ash chuckles, trying to lighten the mood and lift the sinking weight on her shoulders.

Ali shrugs. “We’re exactly where we’re meant to be, right?” she replies, the words dripping with sincerity.

“Right,” Ash says as a smile falls across her lips. “Let’s go win those gold medals.”

Ali winks with a smile. “You got it,” she says and pats Ash on the lower back before turning and getting into position on the right side of the field.

A few seconds later Ash places the ball from the ball girl on the spot where Hope went down after a dirty challenge from the German striker. She takes a deep breath to settle her nerves and then puts the ball back in play, booming it down the center of the field to a waiting Abby’s head. She flicks it on and frees Alex, but Angerer is right there to smother her and wins the ball off her foot. 

The play goes back and forth or the next twenty minutes. Ash has been involved in play, but the Germans haven’t looked too dangerous. Then again, the Americans haven't had their usual caliber of chances either. Both defenses have been strong and it’s been quite a battle in the midfield, though Lloyd and Holiday have been getting the better of possession. Ashlyn easily settled into the game, her nerves quickly dissipating the first time she slid to make a save and heard the crowd erupt in a cheer for her. She’s played in games before, but none this big, and never with 50,000 screaming fans rocking a stadium. It’s unreal, but she hones in on the game with a singular focus, pushing any distractions aside.

In dramatic fashion the German’s wait until the clock is well under a minute to get their big chance. Marozsan steps to win the ball off of a streaking Holiday’s foot. With a cut away from her defender, she sends a ball down the field. Popp slips by Klingenberg who can’t match her speed and with the ball on her foot, she’s in on net.

The crowd holds their breath, as does the entire American bench as they watch Germany’s potent striker sprinting towards their net one on one with the keeper as the clock dips below zero and they enter stoppage time.

Ashlyn can see her coming and knows this is it. She doesn’t have time to second guess herself or doubt her abilities as so many others have. She doesn’t have time to think about how if she misses this ball, they lose the World Cup. As the U.S. defender’s desperately rush to try to get back in the play, there’s no time to think about how if the ball gets by her, she’ll forever be the scapegoat, the reason the USA women fall short yet again and wouldn’t have won a World Cup in now twenty years. As Popp cuts the ball to her right foot, she has no time to think about the headlines and commentators stating ‘Hope would have saved it’ as they did in January during the France game. And as Popp pulls her leg back to rip her shot, there’s no time to think about anything else.

She dives to her right as the shot sails towards her, outstretched as far as she can so that she’s almost parallel to the ground. And in that split second she’s glad she didn’t let anything else cross her mind as the very tips of her fingers graze the ball and send it just wide of the net.

The stadium erupts, cheers of ‘USA! USA!’ thundering through the Vancouver air as it rolls out of bounds for a corner. As the Americans regroup in the box, Ash is getting high fives and pats on the butt from her teammates, while they take their positions and wait for the Germans to send the ball back in. Well aware this is likely the last play before the game goes to overtime, they know how crucial it is to clear the ball out.

It’s a terrible cross and Ali, who is playing the near post, easily heads it away and then Lloyd finishes it off, bombing the ball up field as the ref looks at her watch and then blows her whistle to signal the end of regulation.

The players jog towards the bench and even though it’s a serious, intense moment, Ali can’t wipe the smile off her face as she bumps shoulders with Ash on the way to the sideline. “That was a game changer, Ash,” she says evenly while catching a water bottle that the trainer tosses her.

There isn’t much to the statement, but Ash knows exactly what Ali is insinuating. She knows all too well that 99% of the stadium thought that goal was destined for the back of the net. Saving that shot had literally _saved_ the game. “Thanks,” she whispers and is then dragged away by Hope to discuss some tactics while Jill addresses the rest of the group.

“Hey we’ve been here before,” Jill begins when she has everyone’s attention. She looks out to her sweaty, exhausted players but smiles when she sees the intensity and fight still ignited in their eyes. “You’ve been here before and you know what it feels like to come up short. We don’t want to be on that end of it again, do we?” she asks and smiles when she sees them all reverently shake their heads. “So let’s go out there and take this game. Don’t let it come down to chance. Take this game now. We’re all confident in Ash when it comes to PK’s, but let’s not let it get there. Win it now.”

Unfortunately, it does get there. To PK’s. Neither team was able to sneak a goal in during the hard fought overtime, both keeper’s coming up with some big saves, and Ashlyn prays they don’t zoom in on her because she thinks everyone can literally see her heart pounding through her jersey.

“You got this, Harris,” Hope says from behind her.

Ashlyn turns around and looks at Hope standing there in her sling. “I know,” she says, though her voice is a bit shaky. She’s never been shy of confidence, but this is the World Cup _Final_ and it’s going into PK’s. Five shots, five chances to prove that she belongs.

“All it takes is one,” Hope says as if she can read Ashlyn’s mind. “Just get one, Ash.”

Ashlyn nods. It’s like the WPS Final all over again, except this is the World Cup. So maybe it’s not the same thing at all. “We’re you this nervous in 2011?” Ash asks as she bounces up and down, shaking her arms out while they wait for Jill to read off the shooters.

“I was a wreck inside,” Hope laughs, injecting some levity into the conversation. "But you can't let 'em see it."

They turn their attention back towards the bench when Jill begins reading off the shooting lineup. “Press. Pinoe. Lloyd. Wambach. Krieger.”

Suddenly, Ashlyn’s nerves increase ten-fold. Ali is the last shooter. _Again._

“Don’t even let it get to her,” Hope whispers with a devious grin, again reading the keeper’s expression. “Steal all her glory.”

Ashlyn finally smiles at that, glad Hope was there with her sarcasm to cut some of the tension she was feeling. “I’ll try,” she replies with a chuckle.

The ref blows the whistle and signals for the teams to come out. Ash jogs out and gives Ali a light pat on the butt.

“You got this, Ash!” the defender calls after her as she high-fives everyone on her way to the goal.

Ash turns around and nods when they make eye contact. Ali mouths ‘I love you’ just before the blonde turns and finishes making her ways towards the net. She makes eye contact with Angerer and although they’re close friends, they just nod and utter a simple ‘best of luck’. They respect each other enough to not play mind games. It’s keeper versus keeper and that’s enough for them.

The Americans shoot first and Press easily buries her shot.

When the first German shoots, Ashlyn guesses the wrong way. It wasn’t even a great shot, but she was already moving to her right when the ball sailed to the opposite side, a few feet off the center. Ash doesn’t let it get to her though. It’s only the first shot. She still have four more chances to put her mark on the game.

Pinoe slots her ball in the top corner, as does the next German shooter. Going into the third round, neither keeper has even gotten their fingers on a shot.

With a cool confidence, Carli slams her ball towards the net. Angerer guesses the right way, and although she gets her fingers on it, there’s just too much power behind the shot and it hits the back of the net.

Mittag sends her home as well. 

Three rounds in the books and neither side has slipped up on their opportunity. The next round is very much the same, but Ash curses when she gets a finger on the fourth shot and it’s just not enough.

Ali takes a deep breath before she slowly walks to the PK place. She doesn’t look up, doesn’t make eye contact with Angerer and follows the rules Ashlyn had gone over with her on how to keep a goalie from reading her shot. The whole scene feels remnant of the 2011 quarterfinal against Brazil, only this time if she misses, she puts all the pressure is on her girlfriend.

Ashlyn watches, her heart pounding in her chest as Ali saunters up to them with her confident swagger. She has the utmost confidence in her, having practiced PK’s with her many times, but still can't help her physical reaction to Ali being in such a stressful situation. Though she’s in a similar one herself, this feels different.

The ref blows the whistle and without a single moment of hesitation, Ali drills the ball into the bottom left corner of the net. It’s a beautiful shot, perfect even and Ali runs back to her teammates and is swamped in hugs. The celebration is short lived though as the last German shooter approaches the spot.

As Popp brushes the turf with her hand and sets the ball down on the thick white line, B.C. Place becomes deadly silent, but the American’s can feel it. This is their time. Up 5-4 in the shootout, if Ash saves it, they Cup is theirs. Whereas last time they were down and defeated after Japan’s miraculous regulation and overtime comebacks, this time they feel fate is on their side.

In regulation when she saved the last second shot, there was no time to think, but this time, the wait seems agonizingly long. Images of Ali and Ben and little Ali flash through her mind. She thinks of her parents and brother who are in the stands with Ali’s family, and of her grandparents who are watching from Florida. It was everything she had ever worked for. All of the sacrifices, the blood, sweat and tears, the surgeries and endless travel, being away from her family, from Ali; everything had lead her to this exact moment. This was it, her chance to shine, to make everyone proud. To prove to herself and the world that she had what it takes, that she’s not just ‘the surfer girl from Satellite Beach’, she’s ‘the surfer girl from Satellite Beach who won the U.S. a third World Cup’.

She takes a deep breath, focusing every ounce of her mental and physical capacity on the task at hand. She watches Popp’s hips as she takes a few steps back and sets herself, barely registering the ref’s signal to her as she bounces lightly on her feet, ready to stop whatever comes her way. The lanky German takes three steps towards the ball, but it’s no use. She lifts her eyes and Ash can immediately tell which way she’s going. She shuffles to her left at just the last second and stretches out, her fingers connecting with the ball as she parries it wide.

She hits the ground and instantly feels it begin vibrating as the crowd explodes in a thunderous roar. They had just won the World Cup.

Ash pushes up from the ground and sprints past the dejected German attacker towards her teammates, screaming and pumping her fists in the air the whole time. It’s no surprise who gets there first and she opens her arms wide as Ali hurls herself at her in full speed.

“THAT WAS FUCKING AMAZING BABY!” she screams in the keeper’s ear, right before the rest of team arrives and they’re suddenly all in a heap on the ground as everyone keeps piling on.

The pile is sweaty and everyone is crying and screaming in each other’s ears and they smell and it’s actually really not an enjoyable place to be, but no one cares. They’ve finally been vindicated, received redemption, stepped out of the shadow of the 99’ers. This is their team, their time, their victory and they can’t contain the pure bliss that is erupting through their bodies.

After a minute, they begin to pull themselves from the pile, realizing their keeper is being smothered under it all.

“IT’S ABOUT DAMN TIME!” Abby says as she pulls Carli into a hug when they stand up. Hope, with one good arm is right there joining in on the hug. The three had been through a lot together, but they finally came out on the other end. They finally came out on top.

Ash can finally breathe again when Pinoe slides off the pile, followed by Syd and then it’s just her and Ali lying on the ground, with giant fucking grins on their faces as they stare into each other’s eyes, saying everything they need to without words. It doesn’t last long though as they’re pulled from the ground and into the arms of their teammates who are still screaming and crying and jumping around in excitement.

After a few minutes Ali looks up into the stands and spots her favorite faces. She looks to her left and Ash just gives her a knowing smile as they jog over to their family. Ash pulls Ben into her arms in a tight hug as Ali’s dad wraps an American flag around her shoulders while everyone gives the two women, enthusiastic embraces, telling them  
how proud they were.

“Can we take him?” Ash asks and shoots Ali a furtive glance.

She just gives the keeper a sly smile. “You think I’d let him miss out on this?” she asks incredulously and then hoists Ben up on her shoulders as he pumps his fists and continues chanting ‘USA’ with the crowd.

His smile is bigger than they’ve ever seen and in that moment Ashlyn knows everything was worth it. The late nights, the stress, the lack of sleep and sex, the copious amounts of drool and spit up; it was all worth it. She whispers in her mom’s ear and grins when her mom slides a piece of fabric into her hand.

“Wait, Alex," she says and stills Ali before she can take off back to center field with their teammates. “We have to change his shirt quick,” she says nonchalantly and keeps her grin on when Ali’s face contorts.

With a forehead wrinkled in sheer confusion Ali pulls Ben from her shoulders and sets him on the ground. “What’s wrong with his jersey?” she asks as she wraps her American flag tighter around her and looks at Ben’s shirt to see if it has a stain or hole.

Ash unfolds the little jersey in her hand which only confuses Ali more. It’s the same jersey he’s wearing now, half and half split between field and keeper jersey with a number 11 on it, but as she lifts her eyes a bit higher near the collar she sees the distinct difference. “Wh…what?” she mumbles, still confused.

“Remember when Pinoe said they would get us a new jersey with the right last name when we got married?” Ash asks with a wide grin as she tosses Ali Ben’s new KRIEGER-HARRIS jersey that matches the one little Ali had been given, while sinking onto one knee. 

“Oh my god!” Ali shrieks as her hand flies to her mouth when she sees the glimmering rock. Her and Ashlyn’s family as well as nearby fans are all cheering and catcalling as she drops to her knees and throws her arms around Ashlyn’s neck, letting the American flag wrap around both of their shoulders. “Yes!” she screams in her ear over the deafening noise of the crowd, the fact that not just those in the stadium, but also millions watching around the world are seeing this, the last thought on her mind. “A million times yes,” she says quieter and places a chaste kiss on Ashlyn’s lips.

Ashlyn didn’t think it was possible, but she’s smiling even bigger than she had been after saving Popp’s PK. She shoots their family a wink and thumbs up before turning back to her fiancé and Ben who had joined their little embrace. “What do you think about going to show the world what the Krieger-Harris family is all about?” she asks while ruffling Ben’s hair.

“HECK YES!” Ben shrieks before Ali can answer and quickly sprints towards the rest of the team who are gathered around center field, his eyes locked on Whitney and HAO who are waving excitedly at him.

“I can’t believe we won,” Ali breathes out as they watch their little boy leap into Whitney’s arms and then be tossed in the air to HAO, giggling the whole time. “You did it, Ash.” Ali says as she turns to meet the keeper’s eyes, her own brimming with tears as her mind tries to process the overload of emotions she's experiencing.

Ash smiles and tugs at the corner of the oversized flag draped around Ali so that it comes and wraps around her shoulder as well. “No,” she says with the most pure smile Ali has ever seen as they make their way towards centerfield. “We did it.”


	36. Can We Do It Again?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Thanks for keeping up on this story interacting with me throughout! I really appreciate it and I'm glad you all (or most of you) enjoyed it. I stayed up super later to finish this (and work tomorrow morning is going to suck) but I wanted to get it out since you guys are awesome and it's my birthday and the US plays today! Woooo :)
> 
> So here's the epilogue and I really hope you all enjoy it. FYI I tried a little something different at the beginning to fill in some background stuff so let me know what you think :)
> 
> I'll be taking a break for a while, especially since I'll be posted up on the couch watching the World Cup and traveling to see the Semi-Finals & Finals. Hopefully I'll be back with something after, but who knows. Thanks again for being amazing readers and people and I hope you all have a very Happy World Cup!

"After that fateful day in April, the pair had two options; let the circumstances filled with pressure and stress break them and drive them apart, or band together and lean on each other for strength and support. They chose the later and the results have been nothing short of spectacular. 

Fast forward two years from that day and Ali and Ashlyn sit together atop the chase lounge on the porch that overlooks their lush Maryland backyard. Ali, in a pair of black Nike tights and a tight fitting white v-neck dons a large, glimmering white smile as she looks at her pride and joys, Ben and Ali, dribbling a soccer ball around in the grass while Ashlyn, in shorts and a loose U.S. cut-off, sits with her intricately tattooed arm wrapped tightly around her.

'Who would have thought we'd be here?' The USA's number one keeper asks pensively with a smile on her face while looking endearingly at her wife.

'No one,' her counterpart replies without hesitation.

And that's the beauty of it. Though no one expected it, here they are. A powerful couple whose commitment to each other was forged through struggle and adversity. Similar circumstances would have caused others to break, but the Krieger-Harris's grew stronger, relying on each other's support to get through some of the most trying years of their lives. 

Supportive isn't a new word to describe them either. That's been the foundation of their relationship from the beginning. When Krieger had torn her ACL in October of 2011 during Olympic Qualifying, Harris flew in during her off-season to help her through recovery. Krieger quickly returned the favor later in 2012 when Harris went through a shoulder surgery to repair her partially torn labrum. 

Ask them who was the better patient, their competitive side immediately comes out. 'Obviously I was,' Ashlyn says with her signature dimpled grin. Ali was a bit more elaborative. 'Ash might look like the tough one in the relationship, but she can be a bit of a prima donna when it comes to pain. I seem to recall a lot of late night trips to bring her ice cream to cheer her up,' she recalls with a chuckle. Though they joke back and forth playfully about their respective recoveries, both go on to say that without the other's support and guidance, they wouldn't have gotten to where they are today.

So when Ali got the call in April of 2015, two months out from the World Cup informing her that her cousin and her husband had passed away, leaving a surviving son, three year old Ben and a newborn baby girl behind in her care, there was no question that Harris would step up. It didn't come without much introspection though.

'I think in my mind I was thinking as much as I needed her and wanted her by my side, I couldn't make that decision for her,' the defender remembers. 'I kind of went about it without expectations of her, but she knew exactly what I was doing and put an end to it right away.' Harris laughs and nods. 'You couldn't get rid of me that easily,' she jokes while looking back at the defender with a teasing glint in her hazel eyes.

And that's how they ended up at the May World Cup prep-camp with a three year old Benjamin and a baby girl, whom Ben aptly named little Ali because she was a fighter just like the U.S. defender.

It wasn't always easy, and there were times they argued and struggled with the decision to continue on with U.S. Soccer in chase of their World Cup dreams. 'Yeah, it was difficult,' Ali states as she watches Ben who is now dribbling circles around his giggling two year old sister. 'Obviously there's doubts and fears that creep in and you wonder if you made the right decision. But with encouragement from Ash and our families and our amazing teammates, we pushed through.’ Ashlyn nods and interjects, 'We didn't know it at that time, but we know now it was the right thing.'

And when did they know it was the right decision? 'When I ran around the field holding Ali's hand with Ben on my shoulders after we won the 2015 World Cup,' the charming keeper answers. 'He was screaming and cheering and I don't think I've ever seen him that happy,' Ali adds. 'It was so cute watching him pump his little fists. Someone even gave him a smaller American flag so he was wrapped up in that too!'

The Krieger-Harris's share a knowing smile at the memory, something both say they'll never forget. 

When asked if it could get any better? 'Of course! The next year we replayed the same scene when we won Olympic gold, but this time little Ali was old enough to join.' The truth in her statement is evident, as the picture of the four, decked out in matching Krieger-Harris jerseys, Ali with her Captain's armband on and her Olympic gold medal draped around Ben's neck while he holds one finger up in the air, hugging Ashlyn who's wearing her own medal and holding tightly to a fourteen month old little Ali, an American flag wrapped snugly around them, sits framed on their mantle, right next to their 2015 World Cup and 2016 Olympic gold medals. The immense love they share, is vividly apparent by the beaming smiles plastered on their excited faces in the photo."

"Really, Whit?"

Whit looks up to find Ashlyn leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed over her chest and a dimpled smirk on her face. 

"Mama!" Ben shouts and scampers from his bed into her waiting arms. 

"Hey, handsome," Ash replies and scoops the little boy up and gives him a kiss on the forehead while eyeing her friend skeptically. "Interesting bedtime reading," she says with a grin as she carries Ben back to the bed and sets him down on top of it next to her best friend.

Whit holds the well-worn ESPN Magazine up to Ashlyn and grins. "What? It's what he wanted me to read him," she says with a shrug, though she finds it amusing as well. 

Ashlyn pulls the magazine from Whit's hands and traces the cover with her eyes. **Power Couple: How this Dynamic Duo Led U.S. Soccer to Gold.** A smile crosses her lips as she looks at the picture on the cover, the picture of an ecstatic, sweaty Ali leaping into her arms after she saved the last German PK to win USA the 2015 World Cup.

"It's my favorite bedtime story mama," Ben sleepily confesses while she hands Whit the magazine when she slips out of Ben's twin bed.

"Oh is it?" she asks curiously in reply while pulling the covers up around her little boy.

He nods and rubs his eyes with balled up fists. "Mhmm. I specially like the pictures of you and mommy and little Ali and me," he quietly confesses. "Can we do it again next time?"

Ash smiles at his innocence. At five and a half he has no idea what goes into winning a World Cup or Olympic gold. "Hopefully," she answers honestly, thinking forward a couple years to the next World Cup. 

It's enough of an answer for him. "Okay," he mumbles while settling his head down on the soft blue pillow.

"I'll finish reading it to you tomorrow night, okay?" Ash says and kisses the top of his blonde head. "Good night, buddy. I love you."

"Okay. Love you too. Bye Auntie Whit," he says sleepily with a little wave followed by a yawn. 

Whit gives him a quick peck on the cheek before following Ash out of the room. "How was your date night?" she asks with a grin. 

Ash playfully pushes her in the shoulder. "It was much needed," she replies with a wink. "Thanks for watching them for the night."

"Of course," Whit shrugs it off. "I know you and the Mrs. could probably use some alone time for your birthday."

"We definitely did," Ash quickly replies. Before tonight she doesn't even remember their last date night. "Best birthday present ever!"

"It's the least I can do since you're getting so old," Whit teases and pokes Ash in the side.

The keeper just groans. "Don't remind me. I already know I'm getting old!"

"All the best keepers hit their prime in their early thirties," comes a familiar voice from little Ali's doorway.

"Are you saying I haven't hit my prime yet?" Ash asks incredulously as she pulls her wife into her arms.

"Guess we'll have to see, stud," she replies with a sassy smirk. "Now go kiss your daughter goodnight," she adds and pushes Ash away lightly. 

Ash playfully salutes Ali which earns her a punch in the ribs from her wife. Ali shakes her head and then hugs Whit. "Did you get what I asked you to pick up?" she asks when Ashlyn is out of earshot.

Whit nods her head. "Yep I picked it up on my way! I snuck it upstairs. Ash is going to love it," she says with a giddy smile which Ali quickly returns.

"Oh she's in for a surprise alright," Ali replies with a mischievous grin.

"What's Ash in for?" comes a curious voice from behind them.

"Nothing!" Ali squeaks and then scampers into the kitchen to grab a bottle of wine and some glasses. When she comes back into the living room, Whit has settled onto the black leather sectional while Ash took up residence in her favorite recliner.

"Thanks again for watching them, Whit," Ali says with a sincere smile. Since being traded to the Spirit last year the other defender had grown even closer with the family.

Whit extends her hand and takes the glass of wine from Ali. "Anytime," she says and eyes Ali knowingly as she hands off the other glass of wine to her wife. 

"So I hear Ben wrangled you into reading the ever popular ESPN Magazine bedtime story?" Ali asks with a giggle

Whit rolls her eyes. "It was literally the cutest thing. He has parts memorized!" she says with a chuckle. 

Ali nods. "He slept with the magazine under his pillow for weeks!" Ali laughs. "Every time someone came over he'd pull it out and show it off."

Ashlyn just sips on her wine and shakes her head. "That kid is something else," she muses. "He's got good taste though. Those girls on the cover are hot!"

The cocky statement just makes Whit roll her eyes again. "Really, Ash?" 

Ash nods. "Yeah do you not see those hotties in the background?" she teases, referring to Alex and Syd who are in the background of their shot screaming. The statement earns her a sharp look from her wife. "Kidding, babe," she quickly clarifies as she catches Ali's playfully chastising look.

Whit looks at the clock and sees it's getting late. She's got an early morning training in the morning and decides to call it a night. Judging by the way Ali and Ashlyn were gazing at each other from across the living room, it seemed like an even better idea. "Well, I'm going to head out,” she says with a yawn. ”See you two tomorrow?"

The couple nods and quickly stands to hug Whit and see her out. Once she's out the door, Ali turns to face Ashlyn. The look in her eye is unmistakeable.

"What?" Ashlyn asks with a cocky smirk.

"Did I hear you tell Whit that her watching the kids was the _best_ present you've ever gotten?" she asks innocently as she steps towards her wife and pushes her down the hall towards their bedroom.

"Yep," Ash replies assuredly. "Is that a problem?"

Ali runs her hands down Ashlyn's arms and then slides them around to her back to give her ass a rough squeeze. "You haven't gotten my present yet," she whispers hotly in the keeper's ear, her lips a hair away from her sensitive skin.

"Hmmm well maybe you should give me yours so I can compare?" Ash replies a bit breathlessly as Ali begins running her tongue lightly down her neck while pushing her into their bedroom door so it swings open.

She bites down on Ashlyn's neck earning her a sharp gasp from the worked up keeper. "That can be arranged," she replies as she tugs her wife's v-neck over her head and pushes her back onto the bed with a light hand to her chest.

Ash's eyes go wide at her wife's sudden dominance and can already feel herself getting wet with anticipation. She scoots backwards up the bed as Ali gets on her knees and crawls after her. She pops the button of Ash's pants and pulls down on them, rolling her eyes as Ash tries to wriggle out of her skinny jeans. When they finally slip off over her ankles, Ali emphatically throws them across the room in mock frustration. Her boy shorts and bra get the same treatment as does her own dress.

"Happy birthday, baby," Ali whispers in her wife's ear as she settles her warm body down on top of the keeper's. She turns her attention back to Ashlyn's lips and bites down gently on her bottom one to get her going.

A slight groan escapes Ashlyn's lips into her mouth as Ali begins massaging her breasts and lightly grinding her hips down. Ali smirks, knowing exactly how worked up her wife is as she begins breathing heavier and thrusting up into Ali to match her rhythm. 

She snakes her arm down between them, grinning into Ashlyn's lips when she feels the goosebumps trailing after her fingers. She looks down at her wife, her blonde hair strewn wildly across the pillow as her chest rises and falls rapidly. A slight sheen of sweat is beginning to form over her from the contact of their bodies in a heated exchange. 

She looks up at Ali with hungry eyes, but won't beg for it. Though she's desperately aching for Ali's touch, she knows if she asks for it, her wife will drag it on even more. Instead, she looks back at her with a challenging expression, and the brunette easily picks up on it.

"You ready for me, baby?" Ali asks with a sultry grin. She slides her fingers through Ashlyn's folds and her eyes widen a bit. "I guess you are," she smirks and pulls her glistening fingers up to her lips to taste. "Mmmm," she hums before sliding her fingers back down her body, taking time to trace her wet fingers around her erect nipples.

"Fuck, Alex," Ashlyn lets out as Ali easily slides two fingers inside of her. “You feel so good in me, baby,” she whispers, keeping in mind that there are two sleeping children a ways down the hall.

Ali can already feel Ashlyn tightening around her as she drives her fingers in and out. She slides her hand up the keeper’s neck, intertwining her fingers in the loose blonde hair that resides there. With a gentle tug she pulls Ashlyn’s head back, exposing her neck which she eagerly attacks with her lips.

She bites down hard, fueled by her own arousal and then gently lashes the love bite with her tongue in soothing circles, turning Ashlyn’s hiss to steady moans.

Through her ragged breaths Ashlyn is able to get out, “I’m close,” but Ali already knows it. She knows it by the way Ashlyn’s eyes are screwed shut, by the way her body is trembling with every kiss, every touch. She knows by the way her back has arched off the bed and her legs have opened even wider, giving Ali even deeper access. But most of all, she can feel it by the way Ashlyn has clenched around her fingers and she can feel every ridge as she pushes her fingers in even deeper, sending the keeper over the edge in a fit of spasms.

“Fuck, Alex,” she screams. More obscenities follow as Ashlyn shudders and ride out her orgasm, but Ali is quick to capture them in her own mouth as she covers Ash’s lips with her own, praying the kids don’t wake up. 

After a moment, when Ashlyn’s back has settled back onto the bed and she stops cursing the gods, Ali pulls her fingers out lets her sweaty head rest on her wife’s chest. They lay in silence for moment, the only sound permeating through the room, their ragged breaths.

"What are you thinking about?" Ash asks once she finally catches her breath. Ali is looking down appearingly deep in thought as she traces the intricate tattoo patterns on Ashlyn's naked torso.

The defender looks up at Ashlyn through her cascading brown waves. "Just wondering if you want your birthday present now?" 

Ash furrows her brow a bit. "You mean _that_ wasn't it?" she asks with a devious smirk as she points between her legs.

"You want it or not?" Ali asks with a bit of sass as she props herself up on her elbow.

With a kiss to Ali's nose Ashlyn easily quells her fight. "Of course I do." She leans back on her pillow and after folding her hands behind her head she spreads her legs. "I'll have the rest of my present now," she smirks.

Ali rolls her eyes and slips off the bed, returning with a small blue gift bag with tufts of red tissue paper sticking out the top.

"Oh you actually got me something else?" Ash teases which earns her a slap on the leg from her wife.

"Open it," Ali commands and Ash eagerly sits up and takes the bag from her. She pulls out the contents and now it's her turn to be confused. "Did little Ali spill something on hers?" she asks.

Ali watches her wife run the fabric of the jersey through her fingers with a furrowed brow. "No. I just thought the newest member of the Krieger-Harris family should have their own jersey, don’t you?" she replies nonchalantly.

It takes Ash a moment, but she finally catches up. "Wh...what?! Are you serious?" she asks as she tackles Ali in a hug, pinning her on her back.

"Went to the doctor yesterday," she replies with a wide grin. "It's really in there," she jokes and pokes her own belly once Ash pulls back a bit.

The keeper's eyes begin to brim with tears and she places her hands delicately on her wife's stomach. "Wow," she breathes out, completely amazed as her eyes stay locked on Ali. "I lied," she finally confesses and looks up to meet Ali's glistening eyes. " _This_ is the best birthday present ever. I love you so much, Alex."

Ali places her hands over Ashlyn's much larger ones and leans in to capture her lips in a sweet, passionate kiss. "I love you too, Ash. Hope you're ready to do this all over again," she teases.

"There's nothing else I would rather do. Nowhere else I'd rather be," she confesses with all the sincerity she possesses. "We can definitely handle one more."

"They don't call us the power couple for nothing," Ali agrees with a brilliant, white smile.

"I guess the Krieger-Harris family is taking the world by storm," Ash muses as she slides her hands off Ali's stomach and around to her butt to pull her in closer.

"Damn right," Ali mumbles into her wife's lips as she melts into her. "Damn right.


End file.
